We Are Krogan
by sherndon86
Summary: Follow the adventures of Shard and Jaq, along with the rest of Maw Company as they make their way across the galaxy. An AU Tale where Shepard and Jack were both Cerberus experiments before being rescued and raised on Tuchanka by Wrex. Rated M for violence, cursing and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1- Something Unexpected

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: ShawnHerndon1**

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 **Earth: Location unknown**

 **Cerberus logs: Project Zero**

 **Author: Dr. Taylor Sanchez**

 **Day 1:** Excitement wouldn't even begin to cover how I feel at this moment. After years of being turned down by Alliance brass and private corporations, I finally got the approval for the research that will begin the next stage of human development. When this is all over, I'll be known as the man who ushered in the next era for humanity. The short-sighted will call my methods unethical but the malcontents will be forgotten once the results are seen. The Illusive Man understands this. I won't let my people down. We got our first batch of subjects in. 10 of the children are prime candidates, and the other 500 will be used to test the more extreme ideas. We begin in the morning.

 **Day 35:** The first results are in. I have to say, things are moving a bit slower than I hoped, but faster than I feared. Of the 10 primes, only 5 remain; 3 boys and 2 girls. Both the females show the most promise. Both were exposed to eezo at a young age and their initial readings were off the chart. Because of this, they've both been tapped for 2 branches of biotics research. The males will be used to test out more traditional avenues of producing a super soldier. They have been moved to other cells, while the females remain my subjects. They've been reclassified as Subject Zero and Subject Prime. Zero will fall under the care of my colleague. She'll be tested under the theory that experimental amps are the key to increasing biotic aptitude. Used in conjunction with mental conditioning, the hope is to create a more powerful biotic than ever recorded. I doubt the results, but every little bit helps. As for Prime, she will be my domain. I have already begun the process.

 **Day 174:** The first surgery for Prime was a major success. We have implanted several new forms of cybernetics. Not even the Salarians have attempted what we have accomplished. Most wouldn't think to use it on living subjects. But to create something perfect, first you must destroy something mundane. More surgeries will follow in the coming months. I foresee no problems.

On a personal note, something odd today. While leaving Prime in her cell, I noticed the way she looked at me. It's hard to articulate what I saw. As preposterous as it sounds, it was almost like a fire burned in her eyes. Another oddity; as I left the room I saw her put her blanket over Zero, who was weeping in the corner. I thought the reeducation material had broken through by now. I'll inform the other agents to move onto more extreme methods.

 **Year 1:** It's been one year since we began and already we have seen amazing results. Thanks to my success, the Illusive Man has doubled our budget and doubled our personnel. Not to mention, given us access to more subjects. He seems most pleased with the success of the final cybernetic surgery to Prime. If I'm correct her implants will produce a vast increase to her strength, speed, stamina and cognitive abilities. She's already proven to be immune to even the most deadly diseases. We've injected her with everything on file from the CDC and she's passed with flying colors. The process wasn't painless however much to my disappointment. It seems that even if she does not die and her body is able to fight it off, it's not without a cost to the subject. I do not hold her failing personal though. We did the best we could and what we have accomplished is light years ahead of the other species. Over the next year I plan to test her against alien diseases as well.

 **Year 1.75:** We've moved onto training and study. Hand-to-hand combat is being taken care of by some of the best our organization has to offer. Thanks to Prime's cybernetics, she's able to take on grown soldiers, despite her young age. It is true that each session ends with her bloodied and broken but she heals at such a rapid pace that she is able to go again in less than 75 hours. That was after her most extreme injuries; a broken neck, gouged eyes, ruptured organs and a light brain hemorrhage. I approved each before they took place. We lost nearly 100 of the test subjects before I felt comfortable approving that session but it was worth it. And it can be improved with some new ideas I got after reading over the codex file of one of the alien species known as the Krogan.

 **Year 3.50:** If I had told myself when this all started that we could accomplish such a feat, I would have laughed myself a madman, but it worked. Prime now has a redundant system. Multiple organs, multiple nervous systems, a 400 % increase in white blood cells. Despite depleting the rest of my subjects to accomplish this historic goal, it was well worth it. Last night I got the results from Prime's latest training session. After she killed an entire squad that was fully armed, the troops shot her 15 times unarmored. And as of this writing she has completely healed. It's remarkable but with the advancements she now has, by the time she is fully grown I would not be surprised if she could take out an entire platoon unarmed and alone. I gave the Illusive Man the results and he believes we could break this down to be used for all troops. He promises me a long future with the organization.

 **Year 4.99:** There was an incident last week. I've been busy getting the project back on track so I haven't had time to put my thoughts to note. I had never thought that housing Zero and Prime together would create such a bond. I was assured the reeducation was working. They should not have been able to work together. Frankly, I was looking forward to the day where Prime killed Zero and put my so-called fellow Doctor's research to shame. But I am not a novice. I will not deny what the evidence shows. They were almost able to escape, in a plan that I can only assume has been years in the making. Several buildings in the facility were destroyed and half the staff is gone. Thankfully we were able to stop them alive if not unharmed. They are now being kept separate. We lost 10 soldiers to accomplish that. Such a waste. We are not taking the chance of this happening again. Last night, I got approval to take Prime to another cell. We leave in the morning. She'll never see Zero again and we can put this set back behind us.

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Urdnot Wrex finished reading the notes again. The tall reptilian warrior was hunched over the console, having just finishing reading the logs. The muscles under his red scales were pulled so tight they threatened to burst. After storming the center, he found the human in the final room. His predatory gaze turned to the doctor, a snarl showing rows of sharp teeth.

"You filthy fucker. I'm going to enjoy this." Wrex turned towards the man in the stained lab coat who was being held up by two other krogan warriors. When they found him, has was trying to punch a command into the console Wrex found with the logs. Most likely a self-destruct type of thing the battlemaster assumed. He knew these types. He's killed this kind of scum many times over.

"Don't waste your breath freak. I sent off all my data. The humans will be stronger for this. You cannot stop us. We will domina-" His words were cut off when Wrex grabbed his lower jaw and with a gargantuan force of strength, ripped it from his face. The man's tongue dangled from what was his mouth as he tried to scream. It only came out as guttural noises. Without wasting any more time, Wrex took the mandible and slammed it into the man's eyes and didn't stop pushing until the doctor stopped making noise.

Wrex could only grunt with a grim satisfaction. What was done here is unthinkable to his people. So many dead taks; children to the humans. The most precious beings in the galaxy. Every krogan knew that. So rare they were for Wrex, to imagine a race to have killed more than 2000 in the name of science was too much. It's why he took this job from the Shadow Broker. It was personal to him. Someone would have to stop this. He had only just recently returned home to try and reunite the Clans when he got the request. It was the only job he had taken in years. He could not be happier to have brought this to an end and at the same time cursed the day he accepted the job. What he saw here, he would never forget.

He turned from the corpse as his warriors dragged it off to go with the rest of the pile. Now he faced a set of doors next to each other. There was only one thing left to do. The Shadow Broker had been clear, Prime and Zero were to be killed. He was willing before he read the logs. Now he merely stood and brooded while his hand hovered over the security console for the door marked as 'Prime'.


	2. Chapter 2 - Going Home

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

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It was dark inside the girl's room. The girl did not know what was going on, but she could hear enough to know it was a fight. It was the gunfire and screams that gave it away. They were not the ones she usually heard. These were off schedule. And they sounded different. For once she heard the screams of adults. Some were silenced quickly. Some were not. The girl did not know what was happening, but the girl enjoyed it.

The girl had always been here. This cage was the only home she ever knew. Her and the other one; the one with no hair. The other wanted to keep her hair, but the adults, the ones with needles and guns, had taken it and laughed. The girl killed those she could, and when she did, in her heart she did it for the other one. She would never call her Zero, just as Zero would never call her Prime. The girl sat against her wall, in the only home she had ever known, and she knew the other was sitting on the opposite side, waiting to see what would happen. They had talked about it often, what they would do if they ever got out. The other didn't believe her but the girl knew there was more to life than this. The girl figured it out after all the videos they made her watch, of aliens killing humans. The girl knew they wanted her to hate them, and out of spite she loved them all the more. Especially the Krogan. They were like her. That was drilled into her head, in more ways than one. The adults wanted her to kill with blade and bullets, with her hands and biotics. But the girl vowed she would die before she killed anyone for anything other than her own reasons.

The girl heard the door unlock and she crouched behind her makeshift barrier. She had ripped her bed, table, sink and toilet out of the walls once she saw the cameras turn off. It happened after the first explosion. The girl knocked twice on her wall and a second later she heard two more from the other side. Whatever happened, she was ready to fight to the end to make sure the other got out. Then the door opened and she saw a krogan. The girl's eyes looked on in confusion until she picked up a scent that seemed to speak to something inside of her. She felt something she had never felt before. She had to search her memory to even put a word to it: relief.

Wrex pounded in the command and the door in front of him opened with a hiss. Prime's room was bathed in dark, with a blinking light trying in vain to stay lit. He had no trouble seeing however, used to hunting in the dark. He stepped through the threshold and saw who he was looking for. He had been trying to determine if he was going to kill this little one a second earlier but then he smelt something that should not have been. Something he had not smelt in many years. A krogan tak.

He looked around frantically all of a sudden until it dawned on him. What the logs said, what these humans had done to one of their own. He saw her in the corner. No older than 8 years old. A lanky girl with red curly hair, piercing green eyes, and scars covering her entire body. A few were scars of battle, bullet wounds, burn marks, knife wounds. Others were clean and surgical. He had seen enough people after a surgery to know that you did not get scars that deep from a doctor unless they wanted you to. It was too much.

In a swift motion he turned and pointed his shotgun at the corpse of the doctor in the other room and fired several times. He grunted out a few curses to boot. "Monstrous bastard, may you wander the abyss forever." When Wrex turned around the girl was standing in front of him. He had not heard her move. She came up to his waist and was staring into his eyes. He had seen many things, fought and killed many times, but for some reason, not much had ever stirred his emotions the way this tak had.

Then the girl spoke. It was quiet but strong, not what he would have expected from someone who had endured what she had. "Tuva?" She said with a barely constrained strength. Wrex did not know how she knew that ancient term for fathers and Clan battlemasters. 'Could the humans have educated her?' he wondered. Or did the krogan inside her speak to her spirit? For she was krogan. And she was not.

Wrex kneeled down and put his shotgun to the side. His hand went to the tak's shoulders and he simply nodded. It was all she needed for the gates to collapse. She threw her arms around him with a strength he did not think possible and clung for everything. She did not cry but it was not for lack of trying. She shivered against him and he wondered if she lost the ability long ago. They stayed there for a while, together, and inside he knew what he was going to do. No tak, no matter how they were born deserved to be mistreated with such dishonor. She would return to Tuchanka with him, and he would deal with the consequences – for better or worse.

After several minutes the other krogans came to the room to ask for orders. They did not understand at first why their battlemaster was holding this human child. But then, they each understood, just as Wrex had. How could this be? They never smelt this outside of the tak camp. Some of them had never even smelt it before period, but by instinct they knew what it meant. But it was impossible.

The largest of the bunch, a male with silver armor and a crest that had been sliced diagonally, came forward. "Battlemaster, what is this? Why does this child smell of tak?" Straight to the point, it had always been Koto's style.

Wrex rose and turned to address his brothers of the Clan. The girl did not back down and she did not hide. Instead she stood next to her Tuva's side. The word had popped into her head as if called out by her blood. It was not any kind of choice to her. She didn't like the idea of being propelled by her biology, especially when she knew it wasn't completely her own but it felt right. And she would take anything over the normal feelings she dealt with in her home. The large red one explained what he had found out to the others.

Some became so angry they left to hurt something. She did not know why they were so angry. Didn't they understand this was how things were? How they have always been? Others came up to her and put hands on her head and shoulder. Some muttered soft words. Prayers she thought. She's heard about them but does not understand the context. The one in silver bows slightly, and she mimicked it back. This brought a laugh out of those who were left, and she stiffened slightly. She had heard that sound before. When she was broken open or cut up. She took a step back and they stopped. The large red one came forward and offered his large hand to the girl. She didn't even realize her hand was resting on his until he gripped her softly and pulled her out of the room. For once, the girl was glad to leave.

"Do not worry tak. We are leaving. And going home," Wrex stated.

Wrex brought the girl into the room with the dead doctor just as his warriors got the door to Zero's room open. He was about to leave the other girl to her fate when the tak pushed him away. He had not expected it the power behind the push and stumbled slightly. The girl ran past the krogans who had opened the door. She moved so quickly he lost her in the dark but he heard her talking. Another voice could be heard then. It was small, but loud. And crass.

"You fucking bitch, you're here," the second voice screamed, "what's happening, are we getting the fuck out of here, did these assholes hurt you, I'll fucking kill these dipshits if they did. Hey you, yeah you giant turtle cunt, if you hurt her-" Zero was only stopped when the tak pulled her into a hug.

"I'm fine. They killed the doctors and the guards. We are leaving. I am taking you with me." The other girl clung to her and began to cry. She only came to the tak's chin in height but she still looked more than a child of her age. Wrex could see the she was covered in as many scars as the first girl.

"We came here on a mission from the Shadow Broker," Wrex stated as he entered the room. "He wants this entire base destroyed and every member of the facility killed." He paused for a moment looking at the tak. "But he also said we were to kill Subjects Prime and Zero. We had thought them to be some sort of Cerberus soldiers, but we found out when we got here that they are you two." He loomed over them both now. "I've decided to take you, little one, back to my home. You are krogan. I can smell it, as can you. But this other one," he gave a glance over to the other girl as she bared her teeth and clenched her fists, "she I do not know what to do with."

A grunt came from behind Wrex and as he turned he saw one of his warriors take out his shotgun. "I know what to do old-crest." Before Wrex could stop him, he placed the barrel of the gun right in Zero's face.

It was like a switch was flipped. The moment the krogan had grunted, the girl could tell his intent. The other next to her saw the gun aimed at her head and looked up into his eyes. But his fingers did not even brush the trigger before they were both on him. Both had wreathed themselves in blue flame as their biotic power sparked to life. Wrex took a step back to get a safe distance from the coming chaos. His clanmates followed suit.

The tak had wrenched the gun out of the whelp's hand. Wrex could not believe what the boy was about to do. No order had been given, and anyone with experience could see this mission had changed the moment he had not killed Prime. He would not intervene. The tak turned the gun upside down just as Zero lifted the krogan into the air with a pulse from her biotics. With a savage swing Prime slammed the gun into the krogan's quad. He screamed in horror and pain. Zero slammed him into the wall with enough force to dent the metal. Blood had started to ooze out of his armor when they both raced at him with blinding speed. They pummeled his skull, one biotically charged, the other fueled by whatever science the humans had forced into her body. By the time they were done, there wasn't a head left to speak of on the male.

"Any more of you fuckers want some, we got enough to put you all in the ground with time to spare to piss inside your goddamn eye sockets," Zero screamed. The tak stepped in front of her.

"She is like me, and I will never leave her behind. If you want me to come with you to Tuchanka, you will either bring her with us or you will get out of our goddamn way." Prime started to growl in anticipation of a fight that never came. Instead the room was filled with the roar of laughter and several of the krogan started to speak over each other.

"They are like two miniature Thresher Maws."

"Did you see his head pop like a fucking melon? The fool."

"Ha, these two know of our ways more than most."

Wrex stepped forward, his own laughter only now dying down. "Oh, you have nothing to fear. If nothing else, that display simply made my decision easier." The girls looked at each other in confusion and relaxed to hear his next words. They were nearly knocked over when he cuffed them both on the shoulders.

"You I know are krogan, it's in your blood. And you, small one, are krogan in spirit. Oh, you'll both fit into the clan easily. So let's stop dancing around the issue. Do the two of you wish to join us on Tuchanka? It's no paradise, but I can promise glory, food and good company."

The smaller one spoke first, "Eh, why the fuck not. Got nothing better to do." A large grin crossed her face and her friend simply smiled and put her arm around her shoulder.

Wrex smiled and stood back up, "Excellent. But before we go, we will need your names. Do you wish to be called Prime and Zero?" The girls both made a disgusted sound.

"Hah, I figured not. From what I could tell around this shithole, these bastards never bothered to give you the honor of names. Well, I guess it's up to me. I'm always the one who has to clean up after others."

Koto grunted from behind Wrex. "Really boss? You seem to forget all the messes you leave behind yourself."

"Oh quit your crying. I'm trying to be all noble here." Wrex turned towards the smaller girl first. His eyes met hers for a moment before he spoke in a bellow, as if declaring it to the galaxy.

"Jaq." She seemed to chew it over and nodded in approval, putting a fist out in a display of might. Wrex chuckled at this bravado before turning towards the tak.

"And you, who carry my people inside of you, like a deadly blade waiting for a throat to thrust it into." The girl stood straighter. She had never been given a name besides Prime and she was ready to throw it into the dust where it belonged. He smiled back at her and shouted "Shard." She felt a jolt of something. Unused to many emotions that did not deal directly with survival she had to wait longer than she'd ever admit to identify it. Pride. She almost glowed in pride.

"Shard," she said as she reached out and grabbed Wrex's hand. "Thank you Tuva. I will carry it with me for all of my days, and earn what you have given us today."

Wrex turned around and started towards the exit as he laughed, "I'm sure you will. Jaq, Shard fall into formation. We're leaving this place a crater in a few minutes. So unless you want to get turned into particle dust, let's get you two home."


	3. Chapter 3 - Meet the Parents

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

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Names. They have names now. Shard and Jaq. Not only names, but a home as well. The girl…Shard…was processing it as quickly as she could. She moved with the other…Jaq…next to their krogan saviors and could see just how hard a fight it was to get to them.

"Fuckers got what was coming to them," Jaq paused to spit on one corpse in particular. Shard glanced over her shoulder.

"Knew that one?"

"Yeah, that pig dick was Jackson. Trained me in biotics. Kept me pumped full of drugs and stims while I fought the others in the training circle. I was looking forward to the day when I took his head off and could shit down his neck. Oh well," a crooked smile came across her face as she caught back up with Shard, "at least he's dead now. And it looks like his exit was hard."

Shard put her arm around her friend, "I know. We will leave this nightmare behind us. We will have a new home. And one day, we will find the one behind this, and bring his entire world crashing around his ears." Jaq slapped Shard's back roughly laughing at the promise of future vengeance.

"Ha, spoken like a true Krogan Shard." Koto strutted next to the smaller female. "Tell me, little girl, why is it you smell like us? I thought you were human."

In a hushed voice, Shard stared into his eyes. "Not anymore. And if you call me little girl again, you'll end up like your friend back there." The words came out in a growl. Jaq started to pound her fists together in anticipation.

"You mean that pyjak back in your cell? Fuck him. He should have known better than moving without the Clan Leader's permission. Not much of a krogan if you ask me, one who would waste perfectly healthy children who will clearly grow to be great warriors." It made Shard stumble ever so slightly. Kind words. Respect. She had never heard them from anyone other than Jaq.

"Alright enough chit-chat ladies. Time to pierce the dark." Wrex opened up the hatch to his ship, an older model that wouldn't be winning any beauty contests any time soon. "Eh, don't let her fool you. She's fast enough and packs a punch. Leave the fancy hull designs to the Asari." Everyone moved into the hull and strapped in. Wrex was going to help the girls buckle in, assuming they did not have much experience outside of this project. But they had already finished by the time he got to them. Shard gave him an innocent look.

"What? Did you expect us to be too dense to understand a buckle and strap? We may have been designed as weapons, but our education in other mundane areas was not lacking."

"Heh-heh, so it was not. Tell me tak, what are you trained in?"

"Fucking murder, turtle," spoke Jaq "so don't get any funny ideas."

Wrex looked over to the smaller one, "I'm only going to say this once. I have fought for centuries, I have laid waste to entire clans, and I have earned my scars. I have also rescued you both from this hell. So I will be treated with respect, young one unless you wish to strike out on your own."

Jaq's next words were caught in her throat. She wasn't used to respecting adults. Hardly knew the meaning of the words. But this one brought something out of her. So she merely turned her eyes towards the ground and grunted an acknowledgement. Shard wasn't as stunned.

"Yes Tuva. We are your weapons now. We will follow and bring you greater honor." Wrex looked towards her now.

"You speak well Shard. As if you know much of our ways. That's good. It'll save time. Let me give you some advice," he paused until he had their attention, "no matter what was done to you, you are not bound to your past. You are your own people. And you are free. As long as you never bring shame to the Clan, you have free reign over your actions."

Both girls spoke as one, "Yes Tuva."

"Great, now this will be a long trip back home. How about you tell me what was done to you? I read most but it skimmed over what you could actually do in a fight."

Jaq spoke first, "She's the quiet one. They taught her how to get in close and take them out without much noise. Me? Well I like it loud. Hard to hide my ass when it starts shining blue. I don't know much about others, but from what the bastards went on about, I should be one of the most powerful biotics in the known galaxy. Or I'll grow up to be. Fuck I don't know. But I can hit really hard and make shit float. A few techniques were taught to me, the usual - throw, push, slam and charge. I don't know how much they got finished with me. Mostly they spent a lot of time trying to get us to hate you."

"Hate who?"

"All of you, any swinging dick who isn't human. Ah but don't worry, you guys seem great. You don't piss me off, we'll all be sitting pretty."

Shard laughed and took Jaq's hand in hers. "It has been too long since we've spoken. Your words have always been able to make me smile.

"Shit bitch, I don't know how you talk different. My guards weren't the dandies you got. They make me look like an asari priestess."

"Jaq, you are so full of it. You know very well that my guards were just as rough. They said they had to be, to test my regenerative abilities. I don't believe they had to enjoy it so much though." She refused to look sad for herself. She merely spoke facts.

"Well those fucks are gone now. And we're not. So we fucking win." It was as if she was given her freedom all over again and brought Shard in for a hug. It was returned in kind.

Wrex smiled at the two, "So tell me, are you two actually sisters? There wasn't anything on where you came from or who you were before."

"I do not believe so Tuva. If we were I imagine they may have tried the same procedure on Jaq as they did on me. But she is the only person who was there for me for many years. Until you." She reached out and put her small hand inside his large one. "I will never forget it."

Wrex grumbled a bit but did not let go of her hand. It had been a long time since a tak looked at him with this kind of respect. It shook his heart. "Yeah well, we'll see when you're taking the rites if you still love me so much. Now come on, you two get some sleep. We'll be home in several hours, and it looks like you need the rest." He rose from his spot and moved further into the ship.

Shard watched him leave with a smile on her face. They were finally free and had a new home. Nothing would ever be the same again. Without a word she put her arm around Jaq as she moved closer as they had done on many nights, trying to keep the dreams at bay. Snuggled into each other both little warriors' eyes closed as rest finally came.

Koto was sharpening his battle talon when his Battlemaster sat next to him. He glanced around his large frame to see the two females sleeping against each other.

"Learn anything else from those two?"

"Yeah, if anyone ever wants to hurt one of those taks, they're going to be in for a hell of a fight. And will most likely find themselves with two opponents instead of one. They survived because of each other. Been through more than some have in their rites."

"Oh come on, nothing can beat good old fashioned Tuchanka beasts. No way they've been through so much." Koto sheathed his blade in its usual spot on the front of his armor before leaning back and continuing their discussion.

"Shows what you know whelp. If you read what I read." Wrex shook his head in disgust. "Those taks have been turned inside out and put through a goddamn meat grinder. And they came out the other side smiling and pissing on their enemies. Doesn't get much better than that."

"Well you still haven't told me what actually happened. Or why we're bringing them with us." Wrex growled with that last comment before Koto could brush away his concern. "Oh please, you know I trust you. You say they're krogan, they're krogan. I'm just curious."

Wrex leaned back and stretched out his legs. "Besides the fact that one of them is a krogan child by anything that means a damn? Well it wasn't completely for their own benefit. They've been changed. The human scum were trying to create some kind of super warrior, something to deal with the big bad Krogans and other nasties out in the dark. Despite what I feel about their methods, it looks like the succeeded. Those two will shake the galaxy, mark my words. And soon they will be part of Clan Urdnot. Can't really think of a better reason."

Koto nodded at this smiling and punching his fists together. "A promise of a good fight then. I am looking forward to see what they can do. But what of the others in the Clan? The females, the Shamans? The last holdouts from the other Clans? How will you convince them?"

Wrex gave a toothy grin. "The same way I've united all you other wandering pyjaks. With words when I can, and blood when I need to. Now shut up. I need my beauty rest before we get back home to sunny Tuchanka." Wrex closed his eyes to rest after the successful mission.

As their ship passed out of the system and through the relay, the pilot turned off the stealth device they were given by the Shadow Broker. Good for a one time use, it was all but useless now but it did its job.

* * *

Urdnot Bakara had just finished reading the text message from Wrex, the hairless pyjak. He always did have too big of a hump for his own good. Anytime he came back from a successful mission, it was all bravado. She sighed as she closed her omni-tool. The report had revealed much. In between Wrex's bragging was an actual story of remark. A hidden base filled with atrocities committed against children. Two thousand Wrex had said. To many outside the Krogan it would be a historic number. To her, it was just another drop in the bucket. But two were returning, and it stirred her.

She had thought herself past this after all these years since the cave. A human child was coming back, along with another who used to be human. Now she was something else. Krogan for lack of a better term. And Wrex had every intention to have them join the Clan. And she agreed. Already things were set in motion to make the process easier.

She spoke with the other females and they were in agreement. They needed all the taks they could get. The genophage was many things, but it did not produce wastefulness. Clan Urdnot shouldn't be a problem for Wrex to deal with. A few grumblings wouldn't get in the way, especially if they were as powerful as Wrex said. But could this just be more of his exaggerations? They would see. No, the biggest problems would come from the Clans who had not yet joined with Clan Urdnot.

Bakara moved quickly to make sure there would be enough guards to make sure the fighting would not rage out of control. Next she would contact the females who had the ears of the other Clan leaders to at least make sure Wrex would get a chance to speak.

She sent off her message to the females as she went to greet Wrex and the others at the spaceport. The ship was just now making its descent. She stood as the dirt and debris moved around her. The doors opened and out lumbered her prime-mate. Wrex was in high demand from many of the fertile females, but despite this he had never thrown Bakara away or treated her as a lesser despite their dead child together. He had even consoled her when she presented its body. It had nearly broken her, but with his help, she was whole again. She would never forget it. But that didn't mean she would make life easy for him.

"I see you found yourself a few extra hands on your trip. It also seems like you forgot how to duck. Must be hard, with your brains lower in your body than most males." He smiled as he stepped closer. "But before you worry, know that I support you. The Shadow Broker be damned, he should know Krogan do not harm children – no matter the species."

As Wrex put his arm on her shoulder two small figures stepped out on either side of him. One was a small girl with brown eyes and no hair. The other was a bit taller with a nest of red hair atop her head and bright green eyes. Bakara noted the scars, but saw that the girls did not hide them. She bent down and looked at each.

"I am Urdnot Bakara. I am sorry to hear what you have been through. But it looks like you are both greater for it. We are your home now."

"Thank you Siva," the redhead said as she bowed and bent her knees to the ground. The other one did a double take between the two before she followed in a similar fashion.

"Interesting." Bakara took the small one's chin in her hand and lifted it to look into her eyes. "You are the one who smells krogan. You also seem to understand our language and culture. How did this come to be," she paused trying to remember the name.

"I am Shard, soon of Clan Urdnot, and this is my friend Jaq. We were created by the humans and taught of many other cultures. They tried to make us learn to hate, but they were the ones who earned it. Now they lie in ruin, and we are here to offer our gratitude and service." Shard bowed her head once more.

Wrex bellowed with laughter and slapped both children on their backs again. Jaq slammed face first into the ground while Shard hardly flinched. Jaq rose again with a quick biotic push and shoved the large red male away as he continued to laugh. "What did I tell you? These two are great and will only bring us more strength."

Bakara pulled Shard off of the ground and back to her feet as she addressed Wrex. "It seems you were right. Let's just hope you can convince everyone else. I have done what I can to help them see. But I make no promises."

"Good thing I can talk a Thresher Maw to give up its brood."

"No thank you. These two will be enough of a handful as it is. Girls, follow me. The Clans will meet soon and you will be presented for all to discuss." She looked at Shard, "You seem to know what is expected already so I will let you instruct Jaq. Do not fail. And do not show weakness." The two adults moved on towards the stadium where the Clans were meeting. The two girls moved behind them quickly to keep up.

"Well spill it Red. What do they want us to do? It's not going to be weird is it?"

"Oh nothing out of the ordinary. We will just be seen by all the other leaders. And if anyone questions our inclusion we will defend ourselves. Should be just a normal day for us."

Jaq only got more excited as she started to pump her fists up and down, "Oh man, these fuckers have no idea what they're letting in. I tell you Shard, me and you, we're going to own this place one day."

Red closed her eyes and smiled, "Yes Jaq. One day I believe we will."


	4. Chapter 4 - Gathering of the Clans

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

The stadium was filled with all the Clans remaining on Tuchanka. Packed in as they were, Wrex and his crew could hear them talking before he even opened the large stone doors to the entrance. Shouting, growling, some grunts. A good Krogan gathering by all standards he thought. He led Shard and Jaq down the stairs towards a center stage so that everyone could see and hear them in the naturally formed amphitheater. A hush came over the crowd as they watched the two humans walk. Who were they? Why had they come? Why would Wrex allow them to join the Krogan? No outsider had ever joined. More than a few were grumbling. Wrex led most of them by his strength, while Bakara was able to bring even more together with her wisdom. Not all of them though. 'Not yet,' Wrex thought. As he moved towards the center of the stage, the other clan leaders stood around him. Wrex turned and addressed them.

"Welcome, Gatatog Uvenk, Jurdon Kogar, Jorgal Zrox, Raik Maksar and Rorloc Sukar. Hope I didn't keep you ladies waiting too long." Bakara grunted at him and folded her arms. "Yeah yeah, and of course you know Urdnot Bakara, leader of the female clan. So how about we move this along? It was a long trip and I'm hungry."

Gatatog Uvenk was the first to speak. "I agree. Wrex, let us get to the point. You have pushed away far too many traditions to get your way, but this time you go too far. When I read your proposal, I could hardly believe it. You wish to induct these two offworlders into the Krogan?" He fumed at this, "The Krogan. I don't know if your eyes have faded over time but they are humans. They are not our people."

Jurdon Kogar spoke next. "This blasphemy will not stand you overgrown bastard. You are lucky we haven't wiped out your little pets before you even stepped into the Great Hall. They will not join. Not by my choice."

Wrex wiped his hands over his tired eyes. He had expected as much from these two assholes. He's had to drag them kicking and screaming this far already. He turned next towards Jorgal Zrox. "Alright Zrox. Let's hear it from you now."

Zrox was the oldest krogan alive, head of the longest breeding line. He never did anything without much thought. "Hmmm. This is unprecedented true. But there is something odd about these two." He pointed his chin up slightly. "I know these two have smelt it too but chose to ignore it." He points a gnarled finger towards Shard. "This one smells right. She is krogan by blood. The other is not however. Hmm, so many questions. I will have to wait to render my judgement until the end."

Wrex shook his head. "Figured. Alright what about you Maksar?" Raik Maksar lumbered forward. He was covered in battle scars and was missing an eye and more than one of his fingers. He stopped until he loomed over Jaq and Shard. They had been standing still this entire time. Jaq had wanted to speak several times but a quick squeeze from Shard's hand had quieted her. Shard knew now was not the time. She could already guess how this would all end and she wanted to save their energy.

"I don't know you two. But I can see you have already endured much. Wrex said something about a lab or a compound. Experiments." He spits on the ground next to him. "Disgusting. But he also told me how you took out a krogan, unarmed. Said when you were done, there was nothing left but a stump where his head had been." He gave them another piercing glare. "Warriors should not be thrown away no matter what. These two pyjaks," he points a thumb over his shoulder at Uvenk and Kogar, "would know that if they spent more of their time fighting off world as they did whining." The two other krogans growled behind him but Maksar only laughed. "Aw hell why not, it'll be interesting if nothing else. I say let 'em in." He walked away from the pair and returned to his place.

"Knew you'd see the truth of things," Wrex said.

It was Bakara's turn to speak. With grace and patience, "Rorloc Sukar. I sent you everything we took from the base. Have you and your doctors discovered anything of use that could better our people?"

"Doctors? Wastes of skin more like it. Krogan that don't fight have no place on this world," the venom in Kogar's voice could be felt in the air.

Sukar did not let it phase him. He had not studied at Thessia and on Illium to better his people only to be taken out in a battle that served no purpose. And while he did not take up arms, he was still krogan. He would not back down to this brute. "We have. Shard please come here tak." Shard did not falter and moved forward. Jaq looked around nervously when her friend was gone but a quick glance at Bakara gave returned her nerve.

Sukar knelt down next to her and he examined her body. The scars were everywhere. Evidence of many operations, and of many fights. He put two fingers to her neck, then to her wrist. He lightly pressed down on her chest. After he was finished, he stood back and addressed the crowd directly. "The humans did many experiments to these two taks. Both were born with the gift of the soul fist, biotics as the outsiders call it. For the smaller one over there, they made her stronger than she was naturally born. Through the use of prototype amps surgically implanted into her brain and throughout her body, she is already as strong as a full grown adult. When she matures, it is likely she could be one of the strongest ever known, at the very least the strongest human ever produced."

"Shard also has the soul fist, but that was not what they did to her. They implanted her with cybernetic implants, enhanced skin and bone weaves, stim enhancements. Put simply, she is faster, stronger and smarter than most alive. And that will only grow. But that was not all that was done." He whispered something to the girl and after a pause she nodded. She pulled her shirt over her head and turned her back to the crowd. What they saw brought a hush for a split second, quickly followed by cries of outrage. Deep scars, scars that should not have healed, scars from wounds that should have killed. More scars than any warrior had ever seen on a person before, on a child not even ready to take the Rites yet. It was unthinkable.

"The humans implanted her with krogan DNA. They had tested the procedure on others first, killing hundreds of children in the process. When they thought they understood what they were doing, they put it in Shard. She has redundant organs like all of us. She can regenerate any type of tissue damage and from all known tests, is immune to most of the diseases of the galaxy." He looked down at the girl and thanked her before asking her to return to her spot. She did so while putting her shirt back on. Jaq looked down not wanting anyone to see the tears in her eyes while Bakara put her hand in a soothing fashion against Shard's neck. The girl didn't know why, but it was more comfort than she ever felt and she pushed her head against the woman's palm.

"What was done to them was monstrous, and it was done so to produce weapons so fierce as to make all other species bow to the humans. I say we make them ours. My vote is already known. But, we will get more out of them than simply two additional fighters." Sukar turned back to the other clan leaders. "Shard's immunity is a combination of her cybernetic implants and her krogan blood. With more research, it is possible it could open new avenues in the search for a cure for the genophage." Screams and shouts of joy filled the arena. It went on for several seconds while those in favor of the joining shouted over the ones against it. This stood for the Clan leaders as well. It was brought to an end by a mighty roar.

"Enough," Bakara now stood at the center of the stage in front of Wrex. "You have all heard the truth of the situation. Jorgal Zrox, you are the last to vote and will decide the matter. What do you say to these two taks'? Are they to join us?"

Zrox took a slow step forward. He looked over the two females. In his mind, he tried to anticipate the paths this would open to his people, and the others it would close. It had not been the first time such a decision was left to him. He didn't need to think long and he ended the debate with a single word. "Yes."

Shard stood straighter while Jaq started jumping around her, pumping her fists in the air. With a human gesture she learned, she turned towards the clan leaders who voted against them. "Ha, you fuckers. We're in. Hope you like brushing your fangs, because that was us shitting down your throats and telling you to like it." If nothing else, it got a laugh out of Maksar. Bakara gave her a withering glare and Jaq moved back to Shard. Shard on the other hand only smiled at her. She was used to letting Jaq do the talking for the both of them.

Kogar moved forward only to be blocked by Wrex. "I don't care what you other windbags say. This will not happen. Not while me and mine still breath." He was shouting so loudly that spit flew onto Wrex's crest.

"Oh that can be arranged pyjak. But I wonder, are you really ready to see the end of your Clan? I don't think you are, because I know you're more of a coward than you let on."

Kogar's hand moved towards his sidearm when Uvenk put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait my friend. You cannot go against the decision of a gathering of clans. But we are not out of options." Kogar had a curious look on his face when Uvenk looked back towards Bakara. "We can still call on the Rite of Might." A scream escaped from the crowd. The Rite of Might had not been used to fight against a passing vote since the days before the nuclear winter. It would let the final decision be made between the leaders' Krantts. They would fight. One would die. And the victor takes the spoils. Uvenk had not planned on using something so out of date, but desperate times… "Mistress Bakara, I speak correctly do I not?"

Bakara grumbled behind her headdress. She really hated this male. "You speak like a poor loser, but correct nonetheless. Tell me, do you plan to fight these two taks yourself?"

"No mistress. And please do not look so upset. Not after Dr. Sukar here went through all the trouble to tell us about how mighty these two whelps are." The insult had escaped almost against his wishes. But Uvenk was fighting as hard as he could now to keep his composure.

"We'll fight anyone you choose." All eyes turned towards Shard. "And when we're done with their corpse, we'll give you back what is left." The voice had a power to it that even Kogar couldn't deny.

It was Jaq's turn as she peeked out behind Shard's back with her arm around her shoulder and her fist pointed at Uvenk. "That's right shit-for-brains. Pick your dead, have them kiss their kids goodbye, and send them to their slaughter." She looked back towards Wrex with a big smile and he could only nod.

Uvenk paused for a moment. Surely they couldn't be as great as the doctor had stated. It was impossible. No, he was sure his krantt could take them. "Very well. Gatatog Tux will be my Krantt. Who do you choose Kogar?

"My eldest boy, and finest warrior, Jurdon Grix." Wrex looked up at them now, and shook with rage. That pyjak, what was he thinking? Sending someone as powerful as that against these two? He looked back at Bakara and could see her worry as well. But it was too late to stop this from happening. Shard and Jaq had already agreed.

Wrex rolled his shoulders to try and hide his discomfort, "Fine let's get this over with. We'll get them prepped and bring them to the pit. But let's be clear. There will be no weapons. This will be fists and claws only."

Kogar bellowed at this, "Why don't you just slit their throats now and be done with it? These two shits can't stand up to my son without weapons. Couldn't do it even with weapons."

Shard stood taller at the comment, "Yes we can. See you in the pit." And without waiting she turned from the other clan leaders and started towards the exit. Wrex and Jaq moved with her. As they left the Great Hall they could hear Bakara calling an end to the gathering. She looked up at Wrex.

"So how did we do Tuva?"

"Hell tak, couldn't have done better myself. You too Jaq. You both have a quad, that much can be seen and no one will ever forget it. I won't lie to you, this fight will be hard and most likely either one or both of you are going to die. But no matter what happens, you remember to keep your honor. And fight like the krogan that I already know you are."

"Those two fucks don't know what they're getting into. They'll underestimate us, try to play with us, and won't see their deaths coming. You just wait and see Tuva, they'll be dead and gone before we even break a sweat."

Shard actually laughed at this and put her hand in her friend's as they walked towards what looked like an armory. "No worries Tuva, we've lived through worse. We won't let you done."

Wrex felt the fear crawl up his spine but gave it no power over him, "I know you won't taks." Even as he said it, he could not help but picture their deaths, and gave an involuntary shutter before pushing it back down to the pit of his stomachs.


	5. Chapter 5 - A Matter of Honor

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Shard and Jaq looked over the armor available to them. What little there was; most were not in their size. But, they were able to scrounge something together.

"Shit Shard, do we even need this stuff? We got our biotics to take care of ourselves. Won't this, I don't know, slow us down?"

"Well we'll deal with it. We're going to be krogan Jaq. We need to dress like warriors. Not like children." Shard finished clipping her chestplate onto herself. "Turn around." Jaq did so without question as Shard strapped her friend's armor in place. She was more familiar with it than Jaq was.

"So what's the plan Red?"

"They will toy with us and most certainly underestimate us. I say we hit them with everything we got right away to throw them off balance. Let's both focus on one and take him out of the fight quickly. That way, we'll have a numbers advantage on the other one.

"Simple and easy to remember. I like it."

"Remember Jaq, this is a fight to the death. No mercy."

"Shit Red…who you talkin' to?" She gave her friend a strong pat on the back and headed towards the exit. Shard moved with her and they entered a darkened room with a giant hole in the ground.

The Pit to be sure. Wrex and Bakara, along with representatives of the other clans were already gathered.

"You two ready?" Bakara seemed worried if Shard guessed right.

"We won't let you two down." Without another word Jaq and Shard dropped into the 20-foot pit. They slowed their descent with the use of their biotics. Gatatog Tux and Jurdon Grix followed closely behind. The two males came down with some light armor, to match Jaq and Shard's pick.

"Let's finish this quickly. I have better things to do than to take out the trash."

"Aw, what's the hurry Tux? You're not getting squeamish are you? This is like a gift from Kalros herself. No need to rush it. Heh-heh-heh." The slow laughter crawled out of Grix's mouth. From what Shard could smell it matched his foul breath.

The female Ruzad stood at the edge of the pit. "Let all who see witness the Rite of Might. It shall only end when there is one clear winner. Nothing shall end the fight, until death. Begin."

Without another word, each girl ran forward. Jaq bathed herself in blue light before she sent herself crashing into Tux with a biotic rush. It was all too fast to be believable. That was the only thought Grix got out before he was sent tumbling. The little redhead was at him already and somehow she had lifted his legs out from under him. He landed with a hard crunch on the back of his neck.

Jaq had pushed Tux against the dirt wall of the pit and with a mighty pull, had wrenched his armor off his chest. She kicked off of him and flipped backwards just as Shard had slammed her fist into his unarmored scales. He screamed out, not expecting the pain, and Shard's face was splashed with hot blood. She didn't even blink before she reached in further into the hole she had created and felt something crunch. With one of his hearts taken out, he fell to a knee. He was about to push her off when he felt Jaq wrap her entire body around his arm. She gripped as tight as she could and pulled the joint away from its center, until it finally bent backwards.

"Now Jaq," Shard screamed as she pushed the krogan onto his back. Both girls stood next to the poor fool's head and leapt into the air, bringing both of their boots down. With great effort, they were able to crush Tux's skull, brain matter and a gout of blood bathing the area around them. Finally, he stopped moving.

Uvenk could not believe it. How could this have happened? It was impossible! Never in history had any of their proven warriors been taken out in hand-to-hand combat by offworlders. Yet, he now watched it with his own eyes. One of his best was now dead.

Kogar screamed his head off. "Goddamn it Grix, get your fucking hump off that dirt and kill those two bastards!"

Jaq screamed back, "Your son is next you old fart! You should have known better than to fuck with us. Right Shard?" But before Shard could answer, a blade came out of her front, and Jaq's face was covered in her friend's blood. Grix stood up, the blade still inside of Shard and he lifted her off the ground.

Wrex pushed his way to Kogar and headbutted him off his feet. "What the fuck is this you bastard? We all agreed to the rules. No weapons you pyjak."

Kogar wiped the blood from his mouth and nose. "I don't know why he has that blade, he didn't tell me about it. But you can forget about ending this Wrex. You heard the Ruzad. This does not end until one side's warriors are both dead." A smile peaked out from the corner of his mouth and all Wrex could do was stomp on his face before moving back to the edge of the circle.

"You're next you little stump and by the time I'm done with you, there'll be nothing left but a damn puddle on the ground. Maybe I'll piss on your corpse to add a little flavor." Smoothly Grix pulled the blade from Shard's back and brought it back down across the back of her neck. He was sure he felt a bone snap and he stepped over the heap.

Jaq was quieter than she had been since she came to Tuchanka. Then, a slow laugh started to build up from within her until it became manic. Sneering, Grix held the blade upside down and tried to slice into the young girl's skull. But she was gone moments before he made impact. A trail of blue showed she was near him, just behind his back. He made a sweeping motion with his arm, aiming for her neck, but again she was gone. No matter how fast he tried to move, she kept rushing out of his path.

"You stupid bastard. You don't pay very close attention. You think something like this is new for us? People have been trying to kill us for years. Every day was a new battle, against people who only wanted to cut and shoot. And we've gotten good at fighting back."

Pausing for a moment to catch his breath, Grix spit some blood out that had pooled in his mouth. "You idiot! You must be delusional. You keep talking like your friend is alive. I cut her open like fresh Varren. And when I sliced her neck, I know it broke. Your little bitch is gone!" the last word was screamed out as he made another rush forward.

This time Jaq did not move. Just as he was about to get to her, he felt himself stopped by something gripping his foot. He slammed head first into the mud, dirt softened by the large amount of blood in the pit. When he looked back his eyes almost bulged out of his skull.

"I'm not done with you yet." The words were like ice out of Shard's mouth. She stood up quickly. The wound in her chest was now just a red smear, a scar already forming. Putting the krogan's foot between her forearms, she twisted until it nearly popped off. He screamed and rolled onto his back trying to smash his other boot into her face. She moved her head slightly to the side so it missed and stepped on his knee. She used it as a pad to launch herself into the air and brought both boots down where she had jumped from. The armor dented and made it unusable. He screamed again trying to back up, propped up on his elbows. But he didn't get far when Jaq took the knife from his hand and sat down on his arm. With a few chops she removed Grix's hand from his body. The crowd was almost bloodthirsty at this point. The smell of it all almost put Shard into a rage. But she backed away, barely hearing Grix's whimpers. Jaq came up and looked into her friend's eyes, bringing her back to the world.

"Fucker didn't know what we've been through. Now they all know what we can do. Ready to finish this Red?" She handed the blade over to her friend who took it without a word before stalking Grix. The crowd was screaming for her to end it, some shouting to use the blade and cut off his quad for the dishonor he showed. Shard looked up to her Tuva and Siva. They made no motions but looked on intently. With a grunt of disgust, she tossed the blade back to Grix. He took it with the only good limb he had left. His face twisted in confusion and pain.

"I'm going to give you one shot before I end you." He didn't even think about it, throwing the blade as fast as he could. Before it crashed into her face, Shard brought her hand up. The blade sliced through her palm but stopped after getting stuck. She didn't even shout when she pulled it free. She stared through the hole, watching it heal until it was solid again. She tilted her head around her hand, fixing cold eyes on Grix and then tossed the blade into the mud. Grix couldn't believe what he saw. What was this thing?

"Get away from me you monster," he was able to stammer out before trying to crawl back on his only arm. He didn't make it far when Shard straddled his chest and brought her other hand against his throat. Then the grip tightened, so much that Grix was sure his eyes would burst. It continued to tighten until scale and muscle began to rip and tear and it didn't end until all that was left of the mighty warrior's neck was mush beneath her fingers. And she did not move until she saw the light fade from his eyes.

Shard stood slowly and turned to look at the crowd. Jaq moved next to her and did the same. Her hand still sticky with blood, she wiped it over her face, and did the same to Jaq before screaming up at the rest of the adults.

"We have faced your challenge and destroyed our foes! We are mightier than they and we will only become greater still. Let any more who wish to challenge us, jump to their deaths." Everyone looked over at Uvenk and Kogar. Uvenk looked as if he wished to be anywhere else, while Kogar was shaking with rage, his eyes not leaving the body of his son. "Then let everyone hear my voice and know it for the truth. We are krogan!"

Fists pumped in the air and males headbutted each other after seeing such a display. Bakara smiled behind her headdress and Wrex jumped down to greet his new daughters. The Ruzad moved forward and hushed the crowd.

"The challenge is over. The decision by the gathering of the clans stands. Let it be known to all on Tuchanka, Jaq and Shard are now and forever shall be of our people. This Rite has ended." Wrex pulled both girls onto his shoulders as more cheers rang out. Jaq smiled over to Shard just as she pulled the blade from her hand and slide it into a slot in her armor.

"Holy fuck we did it Red! I mean I knew we would of course. Still it was pretty goddamned amazing."

"Yeah you did great Jaq. I was just glad I could keep up."

"Shit bitch you were great. That whole 'I'll give you one shot,'" Jaq did her best impression of her friend. "That was fucking legendary."

Shard gave a quiet smile, "I just thought to myself, 'what would Jaq say?' The rest came easily." The girls laughed together as they began to climb up the ladder out of The Pit before Bakara pulled them the rest of the way, one girl in each arm.

"I am glad you both lived. And you did not bring any dishonor to our people. No more could be asked of you. Now come, let us get you bathed and cleaned up. You'll need to look your best for the celebration."

Jaq couldn't believe it. They won and she never even got hit. Not even Shard was able to do that. Then again, Shard knew she could take it. The happiness she felt was so new. To belong somewhere and be with people who wanted her; to put her enemies into the ground with her own hands. She could get used to this kind of life.

Next to her, Shard breathed out a sign of relief. She knew what her body could do, but it scared her every time regardless. The doctor who made her said she was nearly indestructible already, and with her krogan DNA she would regenerate from almost any injury almost instantly. But each time was scary. She never knew if the last one would be just that. She was not one to take death lightly. And she planned to learn more about avoiding getting hit. Maybe Wrex and that other Clan leader, Maksar could teach her. They both were likely great warriors.

As the krogan left The Pit, only Uvenk and Kogar remained. Kogar had jumped down into the hole and looked at his oldest son. The son taken from him. The one he had taught to be greater even than himself. And now he was just meat.

"I'll kill them all for this."

"Calm yourself Kogar. It would accomplish nothing, and you and your entire clan would be wiped out."

"Fuck you Uvenk, this was your plan! Your plan that ended with my son dead in the dirt!" Kogar screamed.

"Quiet you fool. The others will hear your plans if you do not stop immediately." A pause and then a whisper, "And never forget you were not the only one to lose a child today."

"Well then help me and get off your hump so we can get our revenge."

"No. Not yet. We must plan carefully."

"Leave the fucking planning to the Salarians!"

"If you wish to throw away your chance for vengeance you go ahead. But I will wait for the right opportunity."

Kogar pulled himself out of The Pit and stood next to the other krogan and thought for more than two seconds for once. "Ok fine. But when you make your move, I want in. Me and the entire Clan. It's time Tuchanka got new leaders and moved in another direction."

Uvenk pulled Kogar closer as he gripped his forearm to seal the pact. "Then so shall it be. Even if it takes until the stars burn out of the sky, we will kill those who have wronged us."


	6. Chapter 6 - Unexpected Guests

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Smoke rose lazily from the cigarette as a man in shadows poured himself another drink. He looked up and watched as a dying star blazed in a mixture of blue and red. He spoke before the woman who had entered the room announced herself.

"Tabatha. Tell me what you found out."

There was no hesitation or fear. She was used to his style by now, and went with the direct approach. "Everyone in the project has been killed sir. All 50 scientists and guards. There weren't any subjects left alive to move to another cell either. But they seem to have expired before the attack. We've already moved wet teams in to ensure the base and the secrets we uncovered about the human condition aren't found out before we're ready to share them."

"Good work. What about Prime and Zero? My last report indicated they may have been in the process of moving around the time the attack took place. Any way they got out before?"

"No. We found Dr. Sanchez's body. Or what was left of it. But we did find something else. A Krogan."

"Hmmm, a mercenary?"

"Possibly. We're going through the data now but I suspect he was part of the team that attacked the base. There's one more thing sir. I believe whoever took the base, may have taken Prime and Zero with them."

"What makes you think that?" he took another drag, still with his back to his top agent.

"It just adds up sir. The body was discovered in Zero's room. And there were two sets of children's footprints heading towards the spaceport. What I don't know is why they came or who they worked for. If a Krogan was involved I doubt it was the Alliance."

"It wasn't them. Our infiltration is almost finished. There aren't many left in positions to make a difference that don't answer to me. Soon Cerberus will be the head of humanity." He pressed a button on his console and it showed a display of a bloodied man bound to a chair. "My sources hinted it was the Shadow Broker. I didn't know for sure until you told me about the Krogan."

"What would his business be with us? And how could he have found out?"

"He has a vast network. Hard to keep a secret these days. No matter. We got what we wanted out of all of this. But I don't like loose ends. Find the subjects. And get rid of them."

"Where do you think we should start?"

"I've sent you a data package of all known agents of the Shadow Broker. I've also marked the ones known to work with Krogan. Get it done."

Without another word the woman turned on her heel and moved back out of the room. The Illusive Man put out his cigarette and opened up a communication channel on his console. He tapped a button to send a call out to Henry Lawson. He only had to wait a few moments before a middle-aged man with a stubble of a beard answered back.

"Jack. A pleasant surprise as always. How can I help you?"

"Hello Henry. It's more what I can do for you. I'm sending you data I recently got back from one of my projects. I'm sure it will a great help for you and your legacy. But I also would like to ask a favor."

"Of course, you know I'm dedicated to the cause."

"I never doubted it. And with your help, I think we can take a major step forward in giving our men and women in the armed forces the edge they need to become the dominant force in the galaxy."

There was a pause while Mr. Lawson read over what was sent to him. "Hmm, yes I can see how this could be a great advantage to both my own personal research and Cerberus's. But," Henry glanced back at the Illusive Man, "You won't find many who will take the procedures willingly. Subterfuge may be necessary."

"I don't anticipate that to be a problem. We have people in place who can be convincing."

"And for most, the best you'll be able to take advantage of is the cybernetic implants. Or at least some of them. Those two you had, Prime and Zero, to get everything you got in both of them, would cost a lot of lives. Too many to remain hidden."

"I suspected enough. That's why I'm bringing you in. I'm hoping you'll be able to find a way to streamline the process, and improve it in other areas."

"As always Jack, you can count on me. So can I still expect you at the Gala next week?"

"I wouldn't miss it. Goodbye Henry." The Illusive Man cut off the call and turned back towards his dying star.

* * *

Tabatha just finished talking on her omni-tool with her agents. There were a couple of possible leads. But still too many. She didn't have access to the teams needed to pursue all three. But then she got an idea. If the Shadow Broker was the one who wanted this mission taken out, he most likely knew about Prime and Zero. And it stood to reason that he would want his prizes. That meant the agents either on their way to meet them, or they were waiting for another Broker agent to make a pick up. She put in some new search parameters and waited a moment.

A few moments later and she had what she was looking for. Two of the Broker agents that were known to work with Krogans were traveling in between planets, but they weren't heading towards any other known areas where Broker agents were. But there was a 3rd Broker agent, currently headed towards the last known location of another one. On Tuchanka. It was enough for her to send in a team. Her orders were clear. Obtain Zero and Prime or take them out, along with any witnesses.

* * *

"This is so fucking awesome. I didn't know you guys had armor under this."

Jaq couldn't contain her excitement. When Bakara had told them they would be getting new clothes, she didn't know what to suspect. Because of their unique situation, the armorer needed to modify the shapes slightly to account for the lack of a hump and the thinner frames but it proved easy for the experienced woman. Jaq turned to Shard just as she stepped in front of the shard of glass used as a mirror. The sun was shining through a hole in the stone building, providing plenty of light.

"I think you look beautiful Jaq."

"Oh shut up princess. You're one to talk." Laughter filled the room. Shard turned around to get a better look. Their faces were covered in a headdress with a cloth covering their mouths so that their eyes looked through. The red outlines of Shard's cloak blended in nicely with the black underlay. Jaq's was similar, but with blue instead, more closely resembling Bakara's. Jaq slid her front piece to the side to look better at the armor underneath. They offered medium protection, and came with two shield slots. Both were currently occupied with an older model, but still offering decent protection.

Shard moved her arms around and tested the flexibility. She had free movement in her outfit and was pleased with the results. Bakara came behind them and adjusted their headpieces slightly.

"Never forget, the women of Tuchanka are expected to be just as much of the warriors as the males. And if they tell you differently, then you put them in their place. Some have forgotten our traditions but they will learn."

"So if we're equals, how come we're covering our faces Siva?"

"It is not done out of some need to hide. It is also a tradition. Usually, women only show their faces to one they wish to enter a mating contract with. It helps get rid of any confusion. It's not necessary though. You are free to take it off if you wish. But don't be surprised if you get approached with offers as you get older."

"Eh, okay forget I asked." Jaq tightened her mask.

"Do not worry Tak. You'll be kept away from most males until you take your Rite. But you will get training from those who accept you. And for you two, I doubt you'll find many who will turn you away. Now come. It's time for dinner."

Shard stepped in line with Jaq as they moved out of the room and towards the area the women and children ate together. They had been on Tuchanka for several months now. She still remembered the celebration and the feast after they were accepted as Krogan. It was the first time she tried the different foods known to Tuchanka. She had to say she enjoyed them a lot. Very delicious. Also the drinking. Most of the adults drank Ryncol. But she was told under no circumstances were she and Jaq to drink it. It could melt their stomachs. Shard figured she had a better chance than most but she didn't want to push it. Even if she could grow it back, it would hurt. But there were other, lighter drinks she was able to enjoy.

As the night went on, there was laughter, shouting, fighting, she and Jaq even got into an arm wrestling contest as everyone cheered them on. With Jaq's biotic enhanced strength, they were at a standstill for nearly 5 minutes. But Shard's cybernetics didn't get tired like Jaq's soul fist did. When she finally beat her, she put her through the table. She had scrambled up to check on her friend, but she only jumped up with her hands in the air screaming 'that was awesome!' It was the most fun she had ever had. Thanks to her family.

"Siva," Shard whispered, all of a sudden a bit overwhelmed by the emotions she felt. Apparently Bakara could sense what she was feeling without needing words. She put a hand on the girls' shoulders as they entered the dining chamber.

"You'll always have a place with us. Never forget that. Now go and find a place. It is time to eat." With a smile up towards her mother, Shard moved away to take her place with Jaq. They sat with the other Krogan children and females just as a platter of roast varren was brought out. Bakara handed out the sliced meat and said a small prayer before everyone dug in.

"Thank you mother Tuchanka for what you have provided. We will heal you and honor you in all our deeds. This we promise."

"This we promise," was repeated by everyone at the table.

* * *

Wrex had left his own dinner in his room for the moment. He was too upset to eat right now. He wanted to be angry and grouchy. It made it easier to deal with outsiders who brought bad tidings.

"He's here Clan Master."

Wrex wiped his face again and sat back down on a slab that served as his throne. "Fine, show the Turian in."

The guard stepped aside as a grey-faced male moved towards Wrex. He had no markings, what his people would call bare-faced. Some sort of insult Wrex had figured. The man had a sidearm at his side and a sniper rifle on his back. Wrex didn't want to insult him, not yet at least, by taking his weapons away.

"Kri Vicnius. You hear to drop off my pay from the Shadow Broker? I'm not used to hand-to-hand delivery, but I won't say no." He offered the man a toothy grin.

"Cut the games Wrex. You know why I'm here. The Shadow Broker was clear. Everyone in the facility was to be killed." Not one to mince words Wrex figured. "Why are Subjects Prime and Zero still alive? And why are they currently being housed with your children and females? The Shadow Broker does not take kindly to betrayal. You know that."

"Watch it Turian. You're in the middle of my Clan. Show me the respect I deserve or I'll send you back to the Broker in a box small enough to hold what's left."

"You wouldn't dare. You're in enough hot water as it is."

"Let's cut the shit shall we?" Wrex stood up and walked to the man, looking down slightly at him.

"Prime and Zero are dead. Jaq and Shard are now under my protection. As is every Krogan on this planet."

"They are human, not Krogan."

"They've been accepted by a Gathering of the Clans. They're as Krogan as they get. And if anything happens to them, I'm going to know who to come looking for Kri." Wrex let out a growl to make his intentions crystal clear.

Kri turned his back and folded his arms, letting out a reserved sigh. "Look Wrex I like you. It's why I was tapped to come here. To find something to tell the Broker that could get you out of hot water. But you're not making it easy. You know what was done to them. They are valuable assets to any military that gets their hands on them. Either as soldiers or as science experiments. The Broker either wants to be compensated for that or he wants them out of the picture. That's the deal."

Wrex figured this was how it would end. "How much?"

"10,000,000 credits. Or something of similar value."

There wasn't even a pause. "Done."

Kri turned with a shocked look in his eyes, his mandibles spread in surprise. Before he could even speak Wrex was tapping on his omni-tool and the transfer was sent. Kri looked down as his tool beeped and confirmed the payment. "You can't be serious. They're just two human children. And you don't have an army or a science team sophisticated enough to use them properly."

Wrex didn't want to correct him on the state of his science team. That wasn't for outsiders to know. "They are my people. And I will do what is needed for any Krogan worth their salt. Besides, I've done a lot of jobs over the centuries. And I've saved up quite a bit. I'll be fine, don't worry your pretty little head about it."

Kri couldn't help but laugh. "Well it's your choice. I'm just glad this was taken care of professionally. Would have hated to have to kill you."

Wrex just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that would have been horrible."

All of a sudden, two guards rushed in. Kri's hand went to his sidearm, instincts set off by the sudden movement of armed guards.

"Sir we have intruders. We just found two dead Krogan by a spaceport. A ship has landed there. Human design. We think they're headed towards the female camp."

Wrex pushed past them as he started barking out orders. "They are after the Taks. I want everyone over there right away. Get word to the other nearby clans. Anyone who has a female contract or a child will come to our aid. Hurry it up pyjaks, this is not a fucking drill!" How the hell did they find them? It's not like he left a calling card. He looked over at Kri and grunted.

"You're coming too Turian. They probably followed you. Not often that two Shadow Broker agents come to the same place. This is your fucking mess so you're going to help me, or you're next."

Wrex could barely contain his rage, his blood nearly at a boil already. His mind raced towards Bakara, Jaq and Shard. His family.

"Calm yourself Wrex. I wouldn't leave you to fight on your own. You might be able to get it done without me. But I'll be able to add some style to the slaughter. Besides, the Broker will want to know more about this."

"Ugh, just hurry up. They're about 5 minutes away. We need to hurry." 'Please be safe.' He sent the prayer up to anything that might be listening. He figured it couldn't hurt.


	7. Chapter 7 - As Well As Could Be Expected

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Udrnot Saatra had just finished her meal when she excused herself from the circle where the young and other females were eating. They were all too preoccupied with talking to their latest editions to really notice her step out. She didn't mind. She felt very strongly for Jaq and Shard, much as most of the other females had. These two understood the pain of being Krogan at such a young age. It was humbling. Some Shamans had not lived through what these two had been forced to. But they still came out the other side strong and brave. True Krogan.

Saatra walked up a flight of stairs to a balcony that overlooked the proceeding. She was about to head towards the baths when she heard a noise from above her. Some sort of stomping. No one should be up there. She opened her omni-tool to inform her Clan leader.

"Bakara, I heard something on the roof. I'm going to check it out."

"Good idea Saatra. Let me know what you find."

Saatra turned towards a ladder that could bring her to the top of the building. She pushed the heavy latch up until it slammed on it's back and she pulled herself through the hole. Unfortunately, it made all together too much noise. She had only seen five figures before her she heard a shot. Her brain came out of the back of her head and she fell back down the ladder she had just climbed, landing on her head and cracking her skull.

"Son of a bitch, they'll all have heard that. Take the shot now before that bitch gets away," The voice came from a man who had just killed the alien. He looked back over his sniper's position to see a girl with green eyes, her head shrouded in in a head dress of some kind. His sniper didn't hesitate once he got the order. She knew the fight was about to start, and didn't have any delusion about getting away. All that mattered was the mission. The noise of the shot alerted everyone sitting around the meal and they stood instantly. The girl with the green eyes looked up just as the sniper pulled the trigger.

* * *

Shard felt the punch of the bullet as it pierced her chest. She had only just stood when she heard a shot, when another one rang out louder. It punched through her shields and armor easy enough, exiting through her back and putting a dent into the stone wall. And dinner had been going so well she though. As she was blasted off her feet, she rolled her body back so she could carry herself through with the momentum. After flipping up on her hands she landed in a crouched position. Her body had already started to stitch itself back together. She had to move now or the next one would be between her eyes. She jumped into cover behind a pillar just as another bullet whizzed past hear ear.

"Shard stay down," commanded Jaq. She sent a shockwave through the air to where she saw the shot come from. It sent the attackers back a bit while she moved to her friend. She got with her behind a pillar.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck Shard, I'm glad you moved out of the way. Have you ever taken one to the brain before? Are you OK?"

"I'm fine Jaq, just sore. I've only gotten a head shot a couple of times and it's not something I'd like to repeat. Who shot me?"

"Shit yeah, you didn't see. It's them Shard. Those fuckers from the labs. They're trying to take us back," panic crept into her voice. "I don't want to go back Shard, please don't let them take us back. We just got away. It was supposed to be for real this time." Jaq clenched her eyes to try and fight against the fear that was already gripping her spirit.

"Be at ease Jaq. Remember the lessons of Siva. I won't let them take you while I still draw breath." She intertwined her fingers in Jaq's. The smaller girl took a steady breath and readied herself.

"Shit. Right. Sorry to lose it on you. Alright. What's the plan?"

Bakara had moved the rest of the kids away from the killzone just as fire returned, this time from assault rifles. She felt herself get hit a couple of times. Nothing her shields couldn't handle yet. She moved under the ledge where the humans were shooting from. She looked back just as Jaq brought a barrier around herself and Shard. There was a hole in Shard's tunic and it was stained with the girls blood but she didn't seem hurt by it. Bakara was still trying to get used to the idea of a Krogan who looked human, but the proof was in front of her once again. "Hurry!"

The two girls made their way to their Siva when a grenade hit the center of the room. A bright flash and loud noise blinded them to the sight of five armed soldiers jumping into the center of the room. Jaq didn't know what what happening, but she had been trained against flash greneades before. She wrapped her barrier around the three of them and pushed out a large bubble of force towards the center of the room. She heard some grunts and felt a strong hand grip the back of her clothes and haul her away.

Bakara hauled the two girls behind her and into another room. She locked the door and tried to clear her eyes. When she heard footsteps in the hall she told the girls to quite before they were ready to press the attack.

Muffled by the walls, they could hear their enemies speaking. "God damn it. How did you miss that shot. You had her in your sights."

"Well the bitch stood up. She took it to the heart, I saw the exit wound on the wall behind her. Cunt should have stayed down," a females voice said defensively.

"For fuck sake's you two, quite down. Spread out."

The talking stopped after that command. Shard heard it come from behind the wall she stood. That one must be in charge. Getting rid of a leader would help them keep the enemies off balance. She breathed in once and held it for more than second. Her body bathed in blue and she leaned back on her left leg.

"Shard what are-"

"Did ya'll hear that? It came from that room." Shard let her breath out just as she launched herself in a rush. The wall slammed into the outline of her barrier but it gave way without much pause. She could see the soldier turn his helmet towards her and try to raise his rifle just as she continued on her path. Shard didn't stop until she slammed through another stone wall and skidded to a stop on her heels. Her tunic was now torn a bit. She was doing better than her foe however. Or what was left of him. The corpse had slammed into the corner. Armor was dented and leaking. There was no movement. At least not from that side of the building. Two more figures rushed into the room just as she turned.

"That bitch got the captain, how the fuck did she do that?"

"Just shoot her god damn it." A shot gun rang out. But Shard had tumbled out of the way. She crawled through a hole in the wall that led her back to the dining area.

In the other room, Bakara reached underneath a bookshelf and pulled out a shotgun she kept there for emergencies. She brought Jaq closer and told her that no matter what happens, do not show any mercy.

"No worries Siva. These fucks aren't taking me and Shard back." Her barrier flashed as she was hit with several shots from a heavy pistol. She moved away from Bakara so she could dash towards the human shooting her. He didn't stop even as she got closer, her fist now looking as if it were wreathed in blue flames. She brought it against his face with such force that it snapped his neck instantly. It hung at an unnatural angle. She was sure the only thing keeping on his body was the armor.

As Jaq was about to turn, she felt an arm snake around her throat and lift her off the ground. She tried to pull it off, but her last display had left her drained momentarily. She had to let it build back up before she could strike. A synthesized woman's voice came from the helmeted face behind her, speaking towards her Siva.

"Back off bitch. We're leaving with these freaks. Unless you want them to be killed, you'll let us walk out of here. And don't think of moving, or the little cunt gets it."

"No." Bakara's finger squeezed the trigger of her gun. Soldier's leg snapped off once the blast made impact with her knee. Jaq pulled herself off the ground took the woman's arm in her hands while her foot found a spot against her neck. Pulling them apart, she heard a satisfying crack. "Ha, nice shot."

Bakara smiled down at her child and hurried past her. "Come, let's find Shard." They moved back down the hall, stepping over the debris left in Red's wake. As they came into the dining room the found two soldiers with their backs to them. They were trying to get a bead on the girl, but she was two fast, jumping all over the room. Jaq snuck behind one of the taller men and jumped onto his back. With her hands once again bathed in blue fire, she wrenched until she saw his backplate rip apart. She kicked off of him just as she laid down a warp, which ripped apart the man's back until the fleshed was pulled away, revealing muscle and a bit of his spine. She felt herself kicked aside just as the last soldier pointed his gun in her face. Half of his helmet had been pulled off, most likely Red's doing. She held her breath waiting for the shot, when she saw the barrel of a shotgun placed against his head.

"You will not harm my child."

The one eye exposed on the man darted between Jaq and the large Krogan female. "This ends one way or another but if you don't take your gun off me, I'm going to pull this trigger and your child won't have such a pretty face anymore."

"You planned to kill them anyway, I will not give you an opportunity to do as you wish." She squinted her eyes and pressed her gun forward harder against his exposed skull. "Now put it down."

The man was too focused on Bakara to see Shard move next to him. With a deft movement she ripped the pistol out of his hand and dismantled it, throwing the pieces to the floor. She brought her fist back and hit him with enough force in his stomach to double him over, despite his armor. Shard pulled Jaq up and hugged her.

"I am thankful you are alright."

"Ha, who me? These fucks didn't have a chance."

Just then her Tuva and a Turian moved into the room. With them were several guards. Shard and Jaq didn't know the man, but if he was with Wrex, he wasn't a threat the each figured.

Wrex ran up to Bakara and put his hands on each side of her face. He closed his eyes and brought his forehead against hers. She returned the quick gesture and then pointed her gun back at the unconsciousness soldier on the ground.

"We found some dead guards by a transport ship in one of our ports. We came as soon as we figured they were after the Taks." Wrex turned his gaze towards his two children and he knelt down and pulled them each into a hug. "My little Serats. You alright?" He straightened again. Not used to showing as much emotion as he had in the last 2 minutes, he looked over each one again. He saw the hole in Shard's tunic and the blood stains.

"Do not worry Tuva. We are fine. I don't know about the others. We heard a shot before it all began. But we were able to stop them."

"Ha, stop them she says." Jaq straightens up a bit, her face full of bravado. "Shard fucking plowed through walls like they were made out of pyjak shit. And I nearly took one guys head off." She glanced at the other guards who were chuckling at her. "Yeah that's right, I'm a badass." Her chest puffed up even more. Shard looked at her with a smile and patted her on the back.

Bakara grunted again. "Ugh. I swear the more they are around you Wrex, the more your bad behaviors rub off on my pups."

"Oh come on Siva. You have to admit, we did great. Didn't even have any weapons."

Bakara smiled behind her mask and didn't pursue the argument further.

The turian stepped forward now. He glanced down at the human's armor and recognized the symbol on his chest plate. "Wrex. I know who sent them. And so do you."

"Yeah I figured as much. Fuckers. I did not expect them to come here for them. At least not so loud. I figured they might lay in wait until the girls tried to leave the planet." Wrex turned towards his mate. "What do you think we should do? There's no guarantee they won't try something again."

Bakara had been thinking the same. She had an idea, but not one she favored much. She had always preached moving away from the Krogan's violent tendencies. She hoped that she could guide her people back towards the spirit of their people that they had lost. But sometimes, you did what must be done. And their reputation could come in handy when used the proper way. "I have an idea. We must make it know what has happened here. And what we are willing to do to protect ourselves and our children. We will execute the human, and we will broadcast it back across the galaxy. As a warning." The man started to stir, but Wrex placed his giant foot on his back and pressed him back down into the dirt.

"Yeah that could work. We'd have to be rough though. Make sure everyone got the point."

Bakara was about to say something again when Shard stepped forward. "I'll do it."

"You sure Shard? It won't be pretty."

"Either I am Krogan or I am not. I will not shy away from my people's heritage or customs. This human will get what is coming to him. And I will make it known what will happen to anyone that comes looking for either me or Jaq."

"Shit princess, that's what I'm talking about. Well, what the fuck are we waiting for?"

* * *

Thomas Fitzgerald was not having a good day. The entire op had gone tits up the moment they made it dirt side. His orders were to obtain or to kill. He knew what he would be facing here. He's fought Krogan before. But he had not been expecting the children to fight back. It threw his entire team off balance. And now here he sat, bound and with a bag over his head. He now wished he had gotten the operation to put a cyanide capsule in his back teeth. He knew the stories of what Krogans did to prisoners. And here he was, smack dab in the middle of Turtle country. He heard some sort of commotion around him when the bag was suddenly lifted from his head. A Krogan stood in front of him holding out his omni-tool, a red record light blinking. He looked around and could see the child with no hair standing between the female Krogan who had the shotgun pressed against his face, and a large red male with scars running down a ruined face. Or maybe he was considered handsome.

Then out of his side view stepped the girl with red hair and he tried to pull back only to find himself firmly planted into the chair he was sitting, bound by rope.

"Human, what is your name?" Thomas didn't say anything, he wasn't about to give up anything to this freak. "Why did you come here? What is it you wanted."

Shard knew the human wouldn't say. "That's fine. You don't need to. I already know what I need to." With that Bakara stepped forward and opened up her omni-tool. With a few quick strokes she brought up a video feed along with audio. It showed their brief fight, how the humans had shot Shard through the chest, and their eventual defeat. Then it sent a data packet into the man recording's omni-tool. "That was the information we pulled from your ship human. You Cerberus ship."

Thomas' eyes widened. How could these idiots get passed their encryption? There couldn't have been anyone here smart enough for that. He was about to shout some lie to try and cover his organization when he felt a gag forced into his mouth. He nearly choked on the rag as it was pushed nearly to the back of his throat.

Shard turned back towards the camera. "I am Shard. Ever since I was born, I was experimented on by the humans. Along with Jaq." The camera turned towards the other girl, who simply flipped it off. "We were cut open, shot and nearly destroyed. Until we were saved by my father Urdnot Wrex." The camera panned to Wrex who folded his arms. "We came her to be in peace. We do not care for the humans, we do not seek revenge against my former people. We just want to be left alone. But, "Shard moved behind Fitzgerald and she grabbed a handful of his hair, "if anyone else attempts to harm me or my family, if anyone else wants to commit yet another atrocity against the Krogans, you better be prepared for a fight that you will not win. Let this be a lesson to you all."

With a hard wrench, she pulled Thomas head back, exposing his neck. She brought her teeth against his throat and tore out a large chunk. The meat hung from her lips as he tried to scream. Next her fingers forced the hole larger and she pushed forward with unheard of force for a child. When her hand came back out, it was gripping viscera that dipped down her arm and stained more of her tunic. The man had begun to spasm now as he bled out. Shard looked directly into the camera and spit the meat from her lips onto the ground.

"Leave us alone." The last words were almost drowned out by the cheers and the chants of Shard's name. The Krogan ended the recording and sent off the data packet to several Citadel news stations, as well as several Alliance ones. Shard looked around and was almost humbled by the outpouring of support. The body she had just murdered was pulled away from the arena. Wrex and Bakara approached her. Bakara put her hand on Shard's shoulder as Jaq started to scream excitedly in her friends face. Wrex gave her a nod and turned back towards Kri.

"I told you they were Krogan."

"Yes I can see that now. I'll make sure the Broker gets the message. The girls are off limits, unless willing to take a great loss to resources. But you don't have to worry about him. He'll be happy with the payment."

"I'm also calling in all my favors I've built up with him. Tell him that I want to know anytime someone has the quad to try and come here for them. They'd be good practice for the Taks."

Kri shook his head and let out a small chuckle. "You're never boring Wrex I'll give you that. Alright, I'll pass the message along. Safe travels friend."

"Kri," Wrex simply said with a nod of his head and the agent left. Wrex went back over to Shard just as the Krogans were starting to leave. Many of them had opened up their omni-tools to save the video of what just happened.

"You did great Tak. Couldn't have done it better myself."

"If you did it Tuva, I'm not sure he'd have a head left. And you would have probably swallowed it. I might not be human, but I've got enough of them in me to want to avoid the issues caused by cannibalism."

"Ha-ha-ha, well in that case, let's get you some real food. Might even try some Ryncol to wash that bad taste from your tongue."

"That's a joke right? Siva, please tell me he's joking." The four of them left the room to find a more enjoyable end to the day.


	8. Chapter 8 - Interlude

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Citadel Codex:  
 **2162**

The broadcast from Tuchanka is rerun by every major Citadel broadcast. The most reputable warn of its graphic nature, and blur out most parts. But more than enough uncut copies make their way to the extranet. Officially the Council decries the broadcast, putting out a statement calling it anther example of Krogan barbarism. Unofficially, the council puts a new emphasis on monitoring the "Krogan situation" on Tuchanka with more STG agents placed on assignment. The salarian councilor says they will want to make sure this new change to the Krogans doesn't lead to issues down the line. The galaxy isn't big enough for a stable Krogan government, and what they saw showed more organization than the group has shown in a long time. The Turian councilor brushed it off as a isolated incident. So the Krogan brainwashed a human child. It wasn't their business.

The human ambassador had made a request to force the Krogan to return the human children to Alliance space. The Council denied the request, reminding the ambassador that there was no evidence that the humans had been abducted from a human family. If they gave the humans free reign to take back any human they found outside of Alliance space, it would open the flood gates to possible kidnappings across Council Space. The ambassador quietly let it drop.

 **2163**

On Earth there had been an outcry among the population about the mention of some sort of black ops human organization. There was no word from the military or the government. This only gave the citizens more "proof" of something nefarious taking place. Large groups of anonymous members gathered on the internet and the extranet, trying to piece together some sort of timeline for events. There were many members talking about stories of kidnapped children and investigations being less than satisfactory. More damning to the believers however, was the large number of conspiracy sites that were taken down, quietly.

 **2164**

STG members gather in the Krogan DMZ, setting up additional monitoring systems. A science group begins a project to make sure of the lasting success of the genophage.

 **2168**

Jaq and Shard finish their training with their adopted mother Urdnot Bakara. With a focus on control and strength, each are able to raise their level of competence of their biotic abilities, known to the Krogan as "Soul Fist". The two former Systems Alliance citizens begin to train in separate schools of discipline. Jaq spends more time with Urdnot Wrex and Raik Maksar. One was the Clan leader of the largest organization of Krogans on Tuchanka, and the other was Wrex's ally and Clan leader of one of the oldest warrior bands from Tuchanka's history. Jaq's training includes weapons, both small and heavy arms, as well as hand-to-hand and demolition. At the same time, Wrex also trains Shard in weapons and martial arts, but she also spends a great deal of time with Rorloc Sukar. It was unknown at the time, but Dr. Sukar was one of the greatest minds in the known galaxy. Due to his species, he was dismissed by most of his peers but this did little to distract him from the work he put into bettering the Krogan condition. He tutored Shard on chemistry, biology, and field medication. Due to her enhancements she was able to learn fast and even started her own projects on the side - including a possible cure for the genophage. She did not let anyone know she was working on it, afraid to get their hopes up before she was finished. With their different schools of training Jaq and Shard go there separate ways for several years, though they stay in touch via omni-mail.

 **2170**

The self proclaimed Queen of Omega, Aria T'Loak, makes a push deeper into Terminus known space. Many believe it is to consolidate her power. While exploring the unknown regions she finds a number of Prothean artifacts. Some she sells off to Citadel agents. Other's she takes into her personal collection. Not too long after this, she brings under her control the different merc groups working on her mining station. It's a short but bloody affair. The Blue Suns move off station and begin working on their own, and the Eclipse sisters relocate to Asari space, once again becoming a major thorn in the side of the Justicar order. All other groups left on Omega now work for Aria, except for a resistance organization called The Talons - led by enigmatic vigilante Archangel.

 **2172  
**  
On their 18th birthdays, Shard and Jaq prepare to take the Rite of Passage, marking their journey to adulthood. Due to their bond, they are allowed to be each other's krantts, or "battlesisters." As gifts to the two girls Urdnot Wrex gives them each Spectre grade weapons. A shotgun and heavy pistol to Jaq, and a shotgun and sniper rifle to Shard. The two meet back at the female and children's camp, seeing each other again in person for the first time in four years.


	9. Chapter 9 - New Friends and Old

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Urdnot Koto finished sharpening his 7 inch battle-talon before pushing it back into his sheath. His eyes went back up to Jaq as she paced back and forth on the floor of the garage. The female had grown quite a bit in the last few years. No longer the squirt she used to be. Not as tall as most Krogan, but bigger than when she first showed up. She stood about 5'8, a thin frame, but filled out with muscles earned through hard training. Tuchanka didn't produce anything but hard stone. And it showed in her warriors. And Jaq was a warrior. She had abandoned her old tunic, wearing now Defender-class Heavy armor. Her helmet was locked onto her backplate, above her Spectre shotgun. That, along with her heavy pistol had been gifts from her father. She had grown her hair out a bit as well. Jet black and pulled into a tail, but still shaved on her sides. He still barely understood hair. Give him a good old fashioned crest any day. She turned back on her heel.

"Come on Jaq. You're making me dizzy. She'll be here soon enough."

"Shut up Koto. I'm allowed to walk where I want."

"Calm down runt. I'm not telling you where to walk. You're just making me nervous is all. Can't you sit still and wait." With a huff, Jaq moved next to Koto and sat with him on a crate.

"Yeah yeah I know." Koto looked back at Jaq. "What. I can feel you boring a hole in my head with those little beady eyes of yours."

Koto leaned back and smiled. "You miss her huh? It's OK. So do I. Haven't seen her in a while. My travels took me off planet after her little message went out."

"Ha, I read a little bit about it on the extranet. Must have made the Salarians piss down their legs."

"Well it certainly gave people something to talk about. It worked though. Seems like the humans became more worried about their own problems than you two. Last I heard there was a lot of reorganizing in their military. Probably the bastards that did you, getting more control. Thankfully they Citadel is keeping an eye on the bastards."

"Fuck 'em."

"Good attitude."

Koto pushed himself off the crate as he heard a vehicle approaching the garage. The large tank came to a halt, kicking dirt up around. Jaq got up and took a deep breath. She hadn't seen Shard face to face in a while. Why did she feel so nervous? She couldn't understand it. It's not like they haven't talked. But there it was, in the pit of her stomach. A feeling she could hardly put a name to. She pushed it away for now as she watched the hatch open.

As she stared into the opening, she saw something she definitely didn't expect. A female quarian stepped out and moved towards the two. Koto and Jaq looked at each other, the same question on each of their minds.

"Who's the suit? You lost girly? Seems like you found yourself in the wrong area." The quarian folded her arms under her chest, putting her weight on one of her hips. She spoke with a voice modulated by her faceplate.

"My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. And you're Jaq. Don't worry Shard told me all about you, so I knew what to expect."

The vehicle shut off as the tank shifted when the driver moved through its hull to get to the exit. Out stepped Shard. Koto couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't seen Shard since he left. He knew she'd grow but nothing like this. She stood a full foot above Jaq. A large frame, nearly as muscular as himself. Her hair was cut much shorter than it had been, trimmed along the sides and cropt short on top. It was still the red it had always been. Then she smiled the most amazing smile he had ever seen, her eyes still as piercing as ever.

"Pick your chin up lover boy, you're starting to drool," Jaq laughed at him.

He grumbled some sort of insult back, making Jaq laugh harder. She stepped closer to her friend and without hesitation brought her in closer for a hug. Their armor clanked against each other, making it a bit awkward. Not to mention that Jaq's head rested on her friend's chest. She felt heat rise to her face and hoped no one else saw it.

"Damn if it isn't good to see you Red. It's been too long."

"You're telling me my friend. But one moment," she stepped back and put her arm around the quarian's shoulders. For some reason, the simple motion sent a smack of anger across her brow. "This is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, or Tali. She's here on her pilgrimage and is going to tag along with us for a bit. Well after the Rite anyway."

"Yes. Shard here helped me out a bit a few years back, and ever since I've been working with her and Dr. Sukar. My expertise with engineering was able to help speed along a few of their...projects."

Koto finally shook himself out of his stupor and reached forward to grab Shard by her forearm to give it a firm shake. "Great to see you again woman. You look healthy." Koto almost rolled his eyes at his own comment. Was that he best he could say. Beautiful is what he really meant. Quickly he turned back towards Tali. "Nice to meet ya' Tali. If you're pals with Shard, you must be alright. I gotta say though, it surprising to see an outsider who isn't afraid to get close to this varren."

"You mean the broadcast where she bit out a human's throat." Well no beating around the bush for this one. Good, Jaq liked direct ladies. "Well I can't say I wasn't a little intimidated by her. I mean, look at her." A blush moves across Shard's cheeks. "But she helped me when I found myself crashed on Tuchanka and attacked by some Blood Pack members. Took them out, with a little help from me. Still, it was enough for me to get over the wild rumors."

"Blood Pack eh? Must have been in Weyrloc territory. They're the only ones who still hire those pyjaks. Wrex and Bakara convinced most the other clans that we needed to get Krogan together instead of out there doing the dirty work for pirates and slavers. Made some new friends that day did you Shard?"

"You know me. No one can resist my charm." Shard winks down at Tali who turns away thankful for her mask for once. Jaq saw what was happening. At least now that she knew she could properly store the information. Whatever she felt towards Shard she wouldn't let something like physical attraction get in her way. They weren't some human prudes. Krogan didn't have monogamy. You got horny or you wanted to sire a brat, then you fucked. No one else's business but you and your partner. But sometimes you found yourself with a prime mate. Meant you were together for more than just sex. Like Wrex and Bakara. Besides, if Shard liked Tali, then she was worth liking. End of story. She puts her hand out and grabs Tali's forearm in a forceful shake, putting the girl off balance.

"Well it's good to meet you. Glad you were there to make sure Red here didn't get herself in too much trouble. Since, you know, I wouldn't be there to pull her ass out of the fire." Shard laughed and patted her friend on her back and the two smiled at each other. Then Jaq noticed Shard's armor. She had never seen anything like it before. "Hey Shard, where did you get your gear? I've never seen anything like it. Another gift from Tuva?"

Shard looked down and spread her arms, feeling a little bit of a model. Heavy plates covered her vital areas. Her chest, thighs, shins and back were plated in red metal with black outlines. Something similar to a muscle belt wrapped around her waist, slotted with different knives, grenades and thermal clips. She also had a series of three wires going down each side of her ribs, down into her belt. On her thighs, two vents seemed to jut out of her plates. Her hands were covered in gauntlets where more of the wires that traveled towards her elbow. Where she wasn't covered in the heavy plate, she had a black flex-mesh that left little detail to the shape of the female's muscles. She also had a helmet attached to her back above her shotgun. Her's looked like it had been modified more than the standard Spectre issue. The same with her sniper rifle.

"This old thing? Something Tali helped me put together. It helps me get my cybernetics and biotics to work better in sync. It's not too heavy believe it or not, so I can move pretty quick. It also comes with some stealth tech, letting me cloak if I'm staying still and it helps me strengthen my barriers. Doesn't have any shields attached though so the barriers are all I got. But it works great for me. It can take a pretty heavy hit too."

"Impressive woman. Well you'll get your chance to give it a real field test for your Rite. You and Jaq ready?"

Jaq brought out her shotgun and put her helmet in place while her faceplate slotted out across her mouth. She looked up at Shard who pulled out her rifle and put her helmet in place as well. It looked identical with Jaq's and had the color to match her armor. They both looked straight at Koto and gave a simple nod. Now was not the time for talking. Now was the time to prove to everyone, why they were ready to be treated as adults.

"Good. Then get your asses back in the truck. Tali can come with me to watch the Rite with your parents. Don't let us down." Tali gave Shard a squeeze on her forearm before moving away with the other Krogan. And without another word to each other, the two women got back into the truck to ride towards the Keystone.

* * *

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, they'll be too busy watching the whelps' Rite to focus on all their defenses."

"And you're sure everyone is on the same page? We've waited a long time for this chance. I don't want it to go to waste."

"Watch your mouth asshole. I know what I'm doing. You just better hope that Guld holds up his end of the bargain. Or else this could actually prove difficult for me."

"Speak of the Tukah, and he shall appear. You got something you want to say to me Kogar? I'm more than willing to get to know you on a more intimate level. With my shotgun."

"Gentlemen please. We must hold together, at least for a little while longer. Before the day is over, we will be in charge of Tuchanka, and Wrex and his blasphemies will be wiped from history."

"Save the speeches Uvenk. Let's get our people in place and get ready to start once they touch the Keystone."


	10. Chapter 10 - Rites of Passage

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Bakara and Wrex sat in their chambers, with a video feed from the Keystone. Wrex had it set up a few months earlier. The big tak couldn't stop himself from talking about his children's Rite. The past several years had melted away any notion that the girls were human. They were his. Bakara felt the same, but she had a bit more restraint.

"Sit down Wrex, they'll be starting soon."

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming. I was just setting up the feed. It's set to record and broadcast to the rest of Tuchanka. The video is straight from the girls' hardsuits. This is gonna be great."

"Hush. They're almost there. I don't want to miss anything."

The audio starts to play out of the video playing in front of the prime mates. _"I hope we get a maw."_

* * *

The truck lurched over a pothole, Shard pressing the accelerator down to get over it quickly. "A maw? You don't aim low do you?"

"Tuva got to take one out. I'm sure we can do it too. Show up the old man." Jaq smiled over to Shard. "You're not scared of a little worm are you?"

"A little worm she says. It's good to see your sense of humor has grown with the rest of you."

"Oh you like what you see do you. Flirt."

Shard gave a shadow of a smile but didn't say anything further. She saw the Keystone over the hill and brought the tank to a stop. "Come one, let's get moving." The girls hauled themselves out and made their way forward. Before they made their way to the switch Shard turned to Jaq. "Wait. Let's set up some traps first."

"Aw traps? Where's the fun in that Red?"

"You've been spending too much time with Maksar. Like Sukar always told me, 'better prepared now, than dead later." Shard then started to set up mines from her belt around the perimeter. She also set up some charges on a few of the pillars littering the area. "Alright. I'm going to climb up this tower to get a better line of sight. When I'm in place you hit the button."

"So bossy. You're lucky your cute. Alright shimmy your ass up there." Shard started to move up and Jaq got a nice view of the skyline.

"Eyes forward down there. Save it for the celebration feast." Jaq laughed and moved over next to the activation button near the Keystone. Shard told her she was ready through her earpiece and Jaq smashed her fist on the button.

* * *

Bakara leaned forward, interested in seeing what they would face in their Rites. When she saw dirt shooting up, from two different directions straight for the girls, she couldn't believe their luck. Or lack thereof.

 _"Fuck yes!"_

 _"God damn it Jaq, you just had to open your big mouth._ "

Wrex smashed his fists together. "Ha, Thresher Maws. One for each of them. Now I don't have to get them anything for their birthdays."

Before Bakara could say anything else, she felt several tremors and was nearly sent to the floor as an explosion tore through the wall behind them. She glanced up and three Krogan storm through the hole, guns trained on them and Wrex.

" _Well, let's get started."_

* * *

Good thing for the mines, Shard thought. The moment one of the Maws pushed itself out of the ground, it set off four of the mines. A piercing screech came from within the giant worm as the explosions tore the flesh from both of its eyes. Blinded, it started thrashing back and forth, crashing into a few of the surrounding buildings. Shard looked at it through her scope looking for any weak points. Thankfully the flesh beneath it's armor had been exposed by the mines and she took three shots around one of its wounded eyes.

Jaq clung to the base of the tower Shard was on top of and leaned out to get an idea of the situation. One of the damn Maws was getting torn up from Shard's sniper shots. She wasn't joking when she said she modified that gun. She never heard of a sniper rifle that could get a maw to slow down. It had actually crashed into the second maw, who snapped at its neck and spit acid back into its face. It burned the area around its face, deepening already fatal looking wounds.

Time to stop sitting here and waiting for it to attack. This is my Rite and I'm taking this fucker down. Jaq wrapped herself in blue energy and shot forward towards the pillars that Shard had planted the charges in earlier. Time to get its attention. Jaq put her hand forward and sent a massive ball of energy at the Maw's lower mandible. When it struck, its head snapped back, a piece of a tooth flying into the distance. Now she had its undivided attention.

* * *

 _"Come and get it you ugly mother fucker."_

Wrex was pinned behind what was left of his couch, Bakara lying low next to him. Their shotgun fire the only thing keeping the invaders at bay.

"Friends of yours Wrex?"

"These assholes are going to hurt so bad. I wanted to watch my girls' Rites and they have the quad to pull this. I'll rip their fucking crests off." Wrex stood up and sent out a warp that shattered one of the attacker's face. Bakara followed it up with a blast that left his head a messy pulp. Shots from three different directions forced them back into cover.

"Well, you got any bright ideas."

"I'm always prepared Wrex." She reached inside her tunic and pulled out a grenade. With a roll from behind the couch, she launched it between two of the other warriors. The detonation took off one of their legs, the other one was burned down his left side. She stepped over them and with two quick blasts, they were taken out. But then she felt a burning pain in her side and saw blood leaking out of her lower abdomen. Knowing it was a bullet wound from a heavy pistol, Bakara leaped out of the way of the next follow up shot and crouched behind a slab of rock that used to be a pillar.

The last Krogan was making a retreat back to the hole, the situation getting out of his control. Just as he was about to pass the threshold, a knife came with swift death, the business end jutting out from the front of his throat. Wrex and Bakara heard the death throws and peeked out of their cover.

 _"Need a little help?"_

* * *

"I got this one Red. You keep focusing on that hurt one. Me and big, tall and slimy here got a date."

The Maw lurched forward, slamming it's face down into the dirt. Jaq set a singularity between her legs just as she sent herself backwards with a biotic rush. Propelled by the blue energy, she moved a safe enough distance away to take a shot at the charges on the pillar. The explosion, mixed with the singularity ripped a mandible off the maw's face. It pulled back in a high pitched screech, just as the pillar collapsed on top of it's back. Pinned to the ground, it was unable to pull itself back inside the hole it had burst from. Jaq moved quickly, unloading as many shots as she could before she had to reload her thermal clip. And then one more for good measure. When the maw stopped breathing, Jaq lowered her head and put a fist over her heart.

"Return to Kalros, you are worthy."

"Uh Jaq, a little help."

Jaq looked back up towards the tower Shard was on top of just in time to see the first maw crashing into the structure. It's mouth swallowed the top, where Shard was. Panic nearly crushed Jaq's heart as she started rushing forward in as many bursts as she could without burning out. But then she saw a figure scrambling over the maw's face. Try as it might, it couldn't dislodge her. Her grip was too strong. She reached behind her back and pulled out her shotgun. Jaq didn't understand why she wasn't unloading into the thing's head. But the she saw a bright red light start to glow inside the barrel of the gun. A carnage shot. Jaq ducked down before an explosion ripped through the maw's skull. The worm crashed into the ground, sending Shard flying through the air, crashing down in the dirt in a twisted heap.

"Red, Red. Come on girl speak to me. You're tougher than this." Jaq's voiced shook as she came over her friend. Her face was swollen already and a bone stuck out from a tear in her suitweave near her elbow. Shard took a sharp breath and sat up.

"That fucking sucked." She looked around for a bit then with hazy eyes turned towards Jaq. "Did I get it?" As if to answer the question, large chunks of wet maw meat started raining down on the two. Splashing both of their faces with warm yellow blood. They could only laugh at the sight of each other.

"Well I know what's for dinner." Jaq looked at the bone sticking out of her friend's arm and stepped over her body, leaning down gripping her forearm and shoulder. "Hold on this is gonna' suck." With a quick wrench, she set it back in place. Shard threw her head back in a scream.

"Ohhh fuck. I hate it when you do that."

"You should learn to duck. Or you know, stop trying to ride maws around."

"Aww, are you saying we can't get one? I've been thinking about a pet."

The two women smiled at each other for a moment. The adrenaline was pumping through the both of them. They were bruised, bloodied and victorious. As if a gate had opened, they both saw each other in a new light. The dull grey years between their time in the Cerberus base and now washed away in a moment and all there was in the world was them. Just them.

"Shard," Jaq said through shaking lips. "I..."

Shard just smiled back and put her hand on the back of the other woman's neck. "Hey, no more talking. Come here." They closed their eyes, their lips brushing against each other. But before they could continue, a shuttle rushed overhead, low to the ground. The heat from the exhaust actually made their shields shimmer.

"Fucking cockblockers."

Shard laughed at her friend and held her hand out. Jaq stood and pulled on Shard's good arm to help her to her feet. When Shard stood up, she rolled her other arm. Happy with the pace it pulled itself together. All that was left was a dull ache.

"So what do you think? Wrex sent out the welcome committee? Probably to help bring back the glorious victors."

Jaq smiled and turned her head towards the shuttle as it landed. The doors opened, and four krogan came rushing out. With guns pointed at them.

* * *

 _"Fuck me."_

Wrex looked at the video feed. Despite the current circumstances. He couldn't help but swell with pride. His girls killed two maws. That was even better than he ever expected.

"Wrex," Bakara shouted him back to reality. They had things that needed dealt with. If this scum were attacking Shard and Jaq, then this attack was bigger than just on them. Wrex turned back around and looked towards the three figures standing in front of them.

"Tank, Korth, Tuuyak. Glad to see you. Thanks for the help with the trash. We had everything in hand, but thanks all the same. So, do you ladies know what in the hell is going on. Who is sending troops after us. After my family?"

The three brothers gripped their weapons tighter. You would never see a tighter team of krogan anywhere. They were the only triplets born since the beginning of the genophage, so they were the only brothers who had the same mother and father. As usual, Tuuyak spoke for his brothers.

"Clan leader, I'm glad we made it in time. Your enemies have attacked. From what we've gathered, its troops from Clans Gatatog, Jurdon and Weyrloc."

Wrex growled out the names of the ones he knew were responsible. "In other words, Uvenk, Kogar and Guld need to die. Well any idea where they are?"

"I believe I do." A new voice came from the natural entrance to the room. Bakara turned towards the quarian woman standing there, next to Koto.

"Tali'Zorah. I wondered where you were."

"Sorry, but things got a little rough between here and the garage. Me and Koto had to fight our way here. Seems like there are attacks happening all around your clan holdings."

Wrex looked over at Bakara who spoke before he could say his thoughts out loud. "I need to get to the other females and children. Make sure they are protected. If these fools are trying to put forth some half brained coup, they'll likely want to secure them." She motioned towards the brothers. "You three, you're with me." And without another word, they were gone.

Koto watched them leave. "Think we should go with them?"

Wrex shook his head. "We have enough on our plates. Did you two learn anything that could tell us where these pyjaks might be?"

Tali brought up her omni-tool. "When we came across some of the other krogan, I pulled data from their tools. Give me a second." With a few taps she sent some data over to Wrex. He looked down at what she had found and smiled back up at them.

" _Well what are we waiting for? Let's go kill these fucks."_

* * *

Jaq could hardly contain her rage. Biotic sparks were popping off around her as she tried to stay calm. Around her, the ground was littered with the assholes who just had tried to kill her and Shard.

"Calm down Jaq. I was able to get their location. We can take the shuttle to get to them. And then we'll help our parents fight off this attack."

Jaq spit on one of the krogan as she stepped over him. She could hardly stomach the dishonor they had shown. To attack someone in the middle of their Rite of Passage, let alone the clan they were attempting to join. She didn't have the words. She moved next to Shard in the co-pilot position as she pulled them into the air.

"I've set the coordinates. It's not too far from here. Should only take a few minutes."

As they rushed overhead, they could see major fighting throughout the Urdnot compound. She also saw something else on the horizon. "Shard look at that. It looks like we got some reinforcements." Shard looked up and pressed a few buttons on her console to get a reading on the other shuttle identities.

"Looks like they're from Clans Raik and Rorloc. It pays to have friends. We'll have to let them handle the ground troops. We have bigger things to worry about." Alarms started beeping, warning of an incoming rocket. It hit one of the rear engines. Shard had to do everything she could just to stay level.

"Jaq, you're going to want to hold on. And put everything you have into your barriers."

"What are you..." Jaq looked up to see that they were heading straight towards the window of a building she had seen surrounded by the most enemy troops. She braced herself as best she could and started to laugh, with a maniacal edge in her voice.

* * *

Wrex kicked another enemy off of him, followed up by a blast from his Claymore shotgun. His head came off, rolling into a ditch next to them, already running over with blood and gore. The carnage around them was invigorating. His clan had held off the advance of the enemy by themselves and now with help on the way they'd be able to stomp out these pyjaks for good. Wrex figured he'd have to have it out with these three one of these days. They were the last holdouts against Bakara's vision for Tuchanka. Stubborn bastards.

A loud explosion shook him from his thoughts. He looked up in time to see a shuttle wobble in the air, before it lurched forward and slammed into the building he was heading for.

"The girls...," Wrex pulled his omni-tool back up to get another look from their feed that he was still broadcasting.

 _"Ugh...my fucking head."_

* * *

Jaq tried to shake the blurriness of her vision back into focus but that just made her brain hurt even more. With maximum effort she was able to open her eyes. She looked around and saw that she and Shard had been hauled from the wreckage by their enemies. Seems they were arguing over them. A shotgun pressed against both of their heads.

"I'm telling you Uvenk, we should just kill them. That's what we're here to do in the first place."

"I agree with the whelp. Even Kogar gets a good idea every once in a while. Let's blast 'em and be done with it."

"I've told you before Guld, you call me whelp again, there won't be enough of you left to feed to Kalros."

"Kogar you idiot. Kalros is a giant thresher maw. There isn't enough of me to feed her now!"

"Shu-shut up you fucking asshole!"

"Gentlemen please," Jaq focus became a little better as she saw the three krogan warlords arguing with each other. Guld and Kogar now had their guns trained on each other, and Uvenk's focus was on them instead of her and Shard. "We need them now. Our attack did not go as well as expected. If we hope to get out of here, we'll need to use them as hostages."

"The attack would have worked better if Clan Jurdon was worth more than a few mewling infants pretending to be warriors." Jaq saw that was enough for Kogar. As Guld stared back at Uvenk, Kogar placed his shotgun against the larger man's hump and pulled the trigger. It sent him flying into Uvenk, knocking him over.

"Now Jaq!" Shard launched herself off the ground, tackling Kogar in the process. Jaq moved quickly to get over Uvenk who was trapped underneath Guld. He was still rumbling, while his body started to regenerate. Jaq put out a large warp bubble, and it finished what Kogar started. The warlord's armor dented and bent in unnatural angles, and his head seemed to burn from the inside out. Using her biotics to help her, she grabbed him and hauled him up to throw him into the now burning wreckage of her old shuttle.

Uvenk tried to scuttle away but Jaq held him in place with her foot to keep him pinned to the ground. Despite his strength, her biotics were more than enough to keep him down. She looked back at Shard just as the woman, who actually stood a bit higher than Kogar now, had pushed him against a stone wall next to a window. She was hitting him over and over, until his jaw had come dislocated and his eye swollen shut. Then she leaned in an said in a whisper.

"You really are a whelp Kogar." Without another word she grabbed him by his armor, spun around and sent him flying out the window. When he hit, there wasn't anything solid left in his body.

"Looks like you're the only one left Uvenk. Any last words?"

"Wait Jaq you don't have to do this. I see now the error of my ways. I'm ready to join clan Urdnot. Please, what is the human phrase...give me a break?"

Jaq gave the older krogan a wicked grin. "You got it." She held out her hand and Uvenk smiled back taking it. Then she started to glow blue and she squeezed until she crushed the male's hand in her grip. When he tried to crawl away on his knees, clutching his hand she came up behind him. She put her hands on his crests and put one boot on his shoulder. She screamed as she pulled with all her might. A few sick sounding twists helped loosen her goal and then with one final wrench, his head popped off, dripping down her armor.

Shard smiled out of the window and looked back at Jaq. She joined her friend at the edge of the building, still holding Uvenk's head. She looked out at what Shard had seen. Clan Urdnot and its allies stood victorious. They were all staring up at them and were cheering. Jaq looked over at Shard who was smiling back at her. Jaq then had a flash of brilliance. In a swift move she held up Uvenk's severed head and as soon as the krogan saw it, the shouting became a roar of approval. Reveling in the glory of victory she put her arm around the back of Shard's neck and pulled her into a hot kiss. Shard closed her eyes and returned the passion pulling Jaq closer, her grip on Uvenk's head loosening, sending it tumbling several stories down.

There kiss was only interrupted by the laughter of their father as he moved into the room.

"Well I'm pretty sure that counts as a successful Rite of Passage. Welcome to Clan Urdnot." He pushed a few buttons on his omni-tool. Jaq and Shard looked down at their tools just as they got copies of their Rite.


	11. Chapter 11 - Markings

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Two Krogan males huddled around a campfire, their hands stretched out to keep away the cold of the night. The shadows danced on the broken stone of the room they used as their home. Above them, the stars could be seen, along with a few intricate patterns of other celestial objects. Whatever made them up was lost on the males. It provided light, no more was needed. Their armor had been discarded moments earlier. Krogans are not normally known for being without their armor, but one could hardly call them defenseless. Their natural scales and plates could suffice against the Tuchanka wildlife, and they felt secure enough. For the first time in a very long time, the Krogan were one people, their clan leaders of the same mind. After their failed attack, what was left of clans Gatatog, Jurdon and Weyrloc had been absorbed into the others. Those who had refused to see the error of their ways, were no longer a problem.

Tannon inched closer to his prime mate, their thighs pressed against each other now, offering yet more heat.

"Looks like you healed well Tisp. Figured you'd have rolled over and died if I wasn't there to pull your ass out of the fire. Again."

"Yeah yeah, my hero. Just remember, you're still playing catch up with me. Don't you remember that raid on that Batarian pirate vessel? That one time alone counts for three." A pause filled the air before Tisp looked back over at Tannon, hesitation filling the usually confident krogan. "Still...thanks for the help. I'm...glad you were there."

Tannon looked back at Tisp and then huddled closer to the fire. "It...was nothing. I couldn't leave you there." A smile returned to his face. "I'd have to teach someone else how to make burnt Varren just the way I like it. It took long enough with you."

Tisp put his arm around Tannon's hump, holding him closer. Wanting to bring a bit more enjoyment to the evening, he decided to talk about the talk of the clans as of late. The Rites of Shard and Jaq. "I downloaded the video of the Rites for the battlesisters. Watched it about 100 times by now."

"Ha, should I be worried? I don't know if I could measure up."

"Yes. You should. I'm always looking to upgrade." Tisp let out a chuckle. "Heard the girls are going to perform the ceremony of marking. Like an exclamation point on the whole thing."

"Ripping that asshole's head off wasn't enough? Well we'll have to go. I wonder what Ripper is going to get." Tannon enjoyed the nickname given to Jaq by Wrex. Seemed appropriate. He hadn't ever heard of anyone ripping a krogan's head off before. Then again, he'd never heard of any krogan ever fighting two maws during their rites and then going on to fight off an invasion. Those two had clan leaders blood running through their veins. And he'd be more than happy to follow them to glory.

"No idea. Should be a fun event. It's tomorrow at dawn. So we have to get up early. Best to get some shut eye now." The men fell into an easy laying position, holding each other in their arms, the fire still dancing behind them. But just as Tisp was about to fall asleep, "You know, I've always been a morning person. Not much rest needed." Tannon had fallen for that arrogant grin long ago.

"Alright, but scoot over. I think I got a rock in my back."

* * *

Tali was sitting in a crowd of nearly a thousand krogan. If her father could see her now. She chuckled at the imagined conversation. No doubt it would have been as pleasant as her last one with him. He didn't like the idea of her being on Tuchanka, less of the idea of her helping the krogans as part of her Pilgrimage, but most of all he hated the idea of her being so close with Shard. The thought of the redheaded woman made her blush slightly. She had never thought much about others like that, let alone someone of another species. She had earned a reputation a while back that some still feared. That's all her father saw. A bloodthirsty deviant, confused at her place in the galaxy, without her people.

But Tali knew that wasn't the truth. Like all krogan, Shard could be vicious and relentless. She had seen the results a few days ago during her Rite of Passage. Something similar to what Tali was doing right now. Just a little faster and more to the point. But behind all that muscle and strength, there was a mind that never stopped moving, and a heart that nearly bled with compassion. Her gratitude towards her father for saving her and Jaq would never be fulfilled and she would work for the rest of her life to help her people. And she was so passionate. When she chose to be. Less through words and more through actions. She seemed to like to let Jaq do most of the talking for her, and they had only just recently been reunited. When Tali first met her, she wondered if it was because she was a quarian that she didn't speak much to her. It wouldn't surprise her, most of the galaxy looked at her like a thief. At the best of times.

But then she started finding gifts at her work station. Small projects that Shard made just for her. Things to improve her suit, or omni-tool. And then there were the other times, when they were alone, where the passion was more evident. Tali fidgeted in her seat with the memories coming back. Shard had been upfront. She wasn't looking for anything more than friendship, and she wasn't one to be pinned down. But as Shard had put it, 'doesn't mean we can't have some fun.' Shard wasn't even put off by the suit. At the time, Tali had thought about taking it off but Shard had quickly shot it down. Tuchanka wasn't what one would call a clean planet. Even before the destruction it now bore. Still, it had been a fun evening.

And she really did think of Shard as a friend. She treated her with respect, asked her opinions on matters, and worked very closely with her on many of her own projects. She never imagined finding that level of trust away from the Fleet. So Tali planned to follow the woman around, either for as long as she would have her or until it was time to return home. And now she found herself sitting here, in the middle of an arena, waiting to watch two naked women get tattoos. Things were never dull.

* * *

Shard was sitting across from Jaq. Both women had walked out in the ceremonial robes the event had called for. Tradition Bakara had said. The idea had been Jaq's. Apparently one day she had found out about the ancient tradition and it had lit a fire in her. She had told Shard about it at the feast following their Rites of Passage. After not so little to drink. They had brought it up to Wrex that evening and he organized this entire event. So now here they knelt, as two female krogan artists used sharp stones and ink to paint upon their bodies. Shard could see Jaq was dealing with it as best she could. She knew it hurt. Nothing they hadn't dealt with before, sure, but pain is pain.

Tears welled up in the corner of Jaq's eyes but she refused to cry. Not when Shard was barely flinching. Damn bitch Jaq cursed in her head. She knew the price Shard had to pay to deal with pain the way she did, but still didn't seem fair. She'd have to make her pay later. Jaq lowered her head, looking across at shard through heavy eyelids, a smile tugging the corner of her mouth. 'Oh my god, she gulped. Ha princess knows what's in store for her later. If I can pry her away from Tali long enough.' Jaq's thoughts turned towards the engineer for a moment. They had spoken more at length during the feast. She had been able to pry the details from the nervous girl. She wrung her hands and looked around for any sort of salvation from the blunt questions. Jaq just laughed back at her and slapped her roughly on the shoulder. 'Don't worry about it suit. She's free game for anyone she gives the time of day to. It's just how the krogan are. All of you spend too much time worrying about who's fucking to really enjoy life.' Jaq left the girl dumbfounded as she met back up with Shard.

She had found the woman in a headbutting contest with Koto. Their hands gripped tightly, her five fingers against his three. After nearly five minutes, the male finally got the upper hand and sent her flying over a table and right into Wrex. Bitch got right back up, took a swig of liquor and jumped over the table tackling him. They rolled around in the dirt for a bit, and then she found herself on top of him. Jaq cracked up when she surprised him by sticking her tongue in his mouth in a heavy kiss and ended it by saying 'Didn't expect that did you half-hump?'

Jaq laughed outloud at the memory, and a cheer erupted from the crowd. She looked over in surprise and then smiled back. 'That's right fuckers. Jaq The Ripper laughs in the face of pain.' Let them see you're everything your rep says you are. But fuck it's going to be sore when this was all over.

Several more hours passed as the markings were put in place. Blood was washed off by some of the children working as aids to the artists. Shard and Jaq had to change positions more than once to make sure they had easy access to every part of their body. And when it was done Shard and Jaq walked up to each other, both admiring the work on each other.

Jaq had a mishmash of different images. Different things that each meant something to her. There was color mixed in with the black, different symbols and patterns. Her face was clear, but the sides of her head that had been shaved had been marked as well. Shard's eyes were pulled to one particular image on Jaq's arm. It was of two female faces, blending into each other, as if they were back to back. One had black hair, the other had red. Shard felt a warm feeling settle in the middle of her chest, her breath quickened. She looked back into Jaq's eyes and saw the other woman admiring her own patterns.

Holy shit, that looks amazing. As opposed to Jaq's design, Shard's was one intricate piece. Each part flowed into the next. Lines of swirls moved from one spot to the next, as if done in one stroke. They all ended at the base of her neck. Shard had chosen not to use any black ink, instead going for bright and vibrant colors. The part that Jaq liked the most was on Shard's left arm. Starting at her shoulder was a flow of red, outlined on each side by white. It looked as if Shard had been wounded, and blood flowed down to her fingertips. 'Damn Red, just when I thought you couldn't get hotter.' The artists turned towards the crowd now and announced the completion of the event. Robes were put back on both women, and Jaq's sensitive skin burned against the cloth. But she didn't let it show. Not in front of Shard. Never in front of Shard.

* * *

 **SEVERAL WEEKS LATER**

"I wonder why Tuva called for us. You didn't do anything to upset him...again...did you?"

"Oh come on Red, what makes you think I had anything to do with it?"

"How about that time you thought it would be funny to scratch the new curse word you learned onto his armor? Or when you decided to adopt a pack of Varren pups and keep them near the food supply? Or when you..."

Jaq cut off Shard before she continued on her extensive list, "Ok we fucking get it loudmouth. It's good to know who's keeping fucking score." Jaq huffed and rolled her eyes. "I don't have a clue what's going on. What about you suit?"

Tali only shrugged as the three marched towards Wrex's chamber. When they entered they found him sitting, Koto on one side and Bakara on his other.

"About time pups. Thought I'd have to come get you myself."

Jaq spoke up quickly, "Hey don't look at me Tuva. I wasn't the one with my eyeball jammed inside of a microscope."

"For your information Jaq, I was testing out the effectiveness of a new antibody against varren scale itch."

Jaq smiled back at Tali, "You been wondering around where you ain't supposed to suit?" She wiggled her eyebrows at the quarian who started looking back and forth, wringing her fingers in front of her.

"Wha-what! I don't know...I mean I would never...jus-just shut your mouth Jaq." Laughter erupted from Jaq, her head leaned back at the intensity it had burst forth from her guts. Shard reached back and smacked the woman upside her head to get her to leave Tali alone. Jaq looked like she was ready for a fight when she stared back at her, gritting her teeth.

The pounding of Wrex's fist on the slab of stone Wrex sat on brought them back to focus. "Kalros help me, you three are going to send me to an early grave. Bakara, will you please deal with your children."

"If I remember correctly Wrex, you were the one who wanted to adopt."

Wrex could only grumble at that, not failing to notice the snickers coming from his daughters. "Look, I'll get to the point. Shard, Jaq, you need to get out of here." The girls looked back, fear and confusion etched into their eyes. Was their greatest fear, the abandonment of their people, finally happening. What could they have done to earn their father's wrath like this. Now it was Bakara's turn to slap Wrex upside his head.

"You idiot. You made them think we do not want them anymore." Wrex rubbed the back of his head. Damn, that woman can still pack a punch he though. "What your Tuva is trying to say, is that you are grown females now. It is time for you to earn your place in the galaxy. Do something besides waste away here in your home.

Shard still look confused, and for once, spoke for both her and Jaq. "But, we have only just passed our Rites. I assumed you would want us close, helping you both. Siva, my research can be of great use to the betterment of our home."

"Yeah and Tuva, don't you need me to help you crack a few humps with anyone trying to pull us back down to the old ways. What the shit is going on here?"

Wrex stood now, and walked over to his girls. His heart was full of more affection for them than he had ever thought possible for another living being. The moment they came crashing into his life, it was as if he stopped existing and all that mattered was making things better for them. "You've already helped us so much." He looked over at Shard, "What you've helped work out with that Doctor friend of yours is already being put to good use. Bakara tells me entire sections of the planet are already showing new growth from plant life. Actually growing some crops." Next he faced Jaq, "And you 'Ripper' thanks to you their ain't no one left to crack. We're one people again. It's time for you to go out their, enjoy yourselves, learn about what the galaxy has to offer. Become mercs, or scientists or whatever the hell you want to do. And then, when you've explored, if you ever want to return, you'll always have a friend among your people."

Jaq and Shard were dumbfounded. They had never thought of leaving Tuchanka before. And now their parents were basically shoving them out the door. They looked at each other and Jaq spoke first. "Well hell, if that's what you think, I don't see a problem with it. Just, came as a surprise is all." They would not whine or complain. Their clan leader had made his thoughts clear. It was done. Shard nodded her agreement.

Bakara stepped next to Wrex. "And we won't be sending you out unprepared. We got you a ship. Fast and strong. Called the Surtesh, after a warrior of legend. He enjoyed ripping things off as well." Bakara nodded towards Jaq, who gave her an unrepentant smile in return. Then Koto started down towards them.

"And I'll be tagging along. I've been out there. Won't hurt to have someone along who has star charts and experience in some of the less civilized areas of space." He smiled over at Shard, still remembering the feeling of her tongue in his mouth and winked at her. She only shook her head. But the more she thought about it, the more she was warming up to the idea. Then, it seemed like something passed over her eyes and she turned back towards Tali.

"Tali, would you like to come with us. Every ship needs an engineer. And I'd like to help you some more on your Pilgrimage before you leave." Jaq whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Yeah I bet you would," bringing a laugh out of Koto.

The woman didn't even pause for a thought. "I'm with you Shard. Until I find something for my people. You can always count on me." Shard reached out and gripped the quarian by her forearm, sealing the promise.

Wrex threw his hands out, "Alright enough of all these good feelings. I have meetings to get to, and I'd like to be in a bad mood before I get there." He pulled both Jaq and Shard into a tight hug. No words passed between the three. None were needed. Bakara put her hands on the back of her girls heads, lowering her eyes to utter a quiet prayer.

"Mother Tuchanka, keep a watchful eye out for the return of your daughters. Let them return to you, and they will bring tales of bravery and honor. This we promise."

"This we promise." Even Koto returned the answer.

The family pulled itself out of the embrace, parents and children giving each other one final look, before the girls turned around to gather what few possessions they had. Tali followed close behind.

Before he joined them, Wrex grabbed Koto by the crook of his arm. "You make sure they come home. Or you die trying. You understand me?"

"Yes sir." And with that, he was gone. Wrex wrapped his hands around Bakara's and she looked over into his eyes. "Some dust in your eye Wrex," she said with a soothingly deep voice, undertones of affection.

"Nah...just crying." Wrex never was one for lies.


	12. Chapter 12 - Get a Job

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Jaq rushed to her room, mind reeling from her sudden course change in life. Truth be told, she hadn't really put much thought into what she would do with herself after she became an adult. For the longest time, there was just the Rite. Now she was being thrust into the galaxy at large. She knew a lot about what was out there. Between the "education" she got from the hands of Cerberus to the talks she's had with her mentors over the years, she enjoyed a basic understanding of what was waiting for her. But she was sure they weren't ready for Shard and her.

Speak of the devil. Shard moved into Jaq's small room, a sack slung over one shoulder. She must have brought what she owned already when she made the trip over here a few weeks back.

"I can't believe it Shard. We're getting out of here. Never thought I'd see the day."

"I know what you mean. Tuchanka has been our life for many years now. I can only wonder what we'll find out there. Or what we'll do."

"I say we start a merc company." Shard made a face as if to question the suggestion. "No think about it. What else do we really have to offer? I mean, unless you want to make like an asari and shake your ass in the face of a bunch of drooling losers."

"I'll pass, thanks. Besides, I don't think Tali would approve."

"Oh I'm sure she wouldn't mind," she said with a wink.

"Very funny Jaq." Shard paused and crossed her arms. "You really think we could go merc?"

"Fuck yeah bitch. We got three heavy hitters, not to mention one of us is a biotic powerhouse, another one has a computer for a brain, and we got us a quarian. You know how handy they come in space. Not to mention any scrounge jobs we picked up." Jaq finished packing her stuff and strode over to her friend, looking up into her eyes. "I really think it's right for us."

Shard reached down and squeezed Jaq's shoulder, her large hand covering entirely. "Alright, you've convinced me. But I hope you don't mind if we avoid the seedier jobs out there. I don't want to become an assassin, or waste our time helping warlords fight over their insignificant territory."

"All I want is to have fun, kill assholes, bring honor to Clan Urdnot, have some great sex and make a shitload of money while doing it."

"Oh is that all?" Shard's light laughter filled the room. The two turned and headed towards their ship. "Well I'm sure I can help you out...with a couple of those things."

Jaq leaned in closer to Shard, their arms pressing against each other, fingertips grazing. "I bet you could Red. But what about Tali? Does she understand? Our ways I mean?"

"Oh don't worry about her. I was upfront with her about how we see things. She told me a little bit about life on the Flotilla. Not a lot of space. Or resources. A little bit like us, except you know, in space. So they understand, when you find happiness, you don't squander it."

"Maybe there's hope for the little suit after all."

"You're one to talk," Shard playfully patted Jaq's head which came up just below her chest, "short stack."

Jaq growled, pulling Shard's hand down, biting into it. Shard yelped and yanked it back. "It's Ripper. Not short stack. I'll be happy to remind you. Every time." Shard raised an eyebrow, a smile on her lips.

Koto was moving supplies into the ship as the two girls came in, laughing together. Tali was already in the cockpit, running diagnostics and checking its systems. Shard took a long look at what she had to work with. It reminded her of the vessel Wrex used when he rescued her. Not much to look at. A bit rough around the edges to be sure, but she bet there was more than met the eye with this one. Jaq had already run into the cargo bay by the time Shard entered.

There was a wide open space, filled with several containers in this room. Up a small ramp way, she moved into the next area. A sickbay of some sort. It had a VI assisted medical device, along with what looked like a full stock of medication and first aid. She moved on, saw a kitchen and then the eezo core room. It was locked off, but could be accessed by an engineering panel on the outside of a large door. There was a sleeping area. It had enough beds for the four of them plus two extra. Each bed was large enough for a full grown krogan and contained in a small room, housed in the sleeping area. Across from the sleeping area was a shower room. There were four simple shower heads hanging from the ceiling. It looked like they could be activated by pulling on a metal lever dangling near each head. Two toilets were nearby.

Shard finished the perimeter of the circular ship, finding the galaxy map and navigation section in the center area. A ladder descended into the forward battery. Directly ahead of the navigation area, was the cockpit. That's where she found her three shipmates.

"A merc company? Are you serious? You want to be pirates?"

"Calm down Tali, she said merc company. Big difference. Mercs get paid to kill people. Pirates do it for fun." A gravely chuckle rumbled out of Koto as Shard stepped behind Jaq. Tali turned towards the tall woman.

"Please tell me she's joking Shard. I told you I was willing to follow you anywhere, but I did not plan on us becoming outlaws."

"Tali, you're worrying too much. You know me, I would never give up my honor. And Jaq's just trying to get a reaction out of you. We wouldn't be taking any jobs that would get you or your people in trouble."

Tali seemed less worried now. "Well if you're sure. What kind of jobs did you think we might be doing?"

Shard leaned against the bulkhead and crossed her arms under her chest. "Well I was hoping we could get things like salvaging ships, taking out pirate bases, rescuing hostages, wiping out gangs. All the fun and violence I love but none of the mess associated with dealing with the scum of the galaxy's underworld."

Koto shook his head. "Passed the Rite with remarkable kills, and still a wet behind the ears whelp. Who do you think will be hiring us for jobs? Good people don't need mercs. The ones willing to pay for jobs like the ones you want always have blood on their hands."

Shard got a serious look on her face before she addressed Koto again. "We do not kill innocent people, the helpless or children. And we do not help those who plan to. Those are my rules Koto. If you can handle that then you can tag along. If not, you can stay here, damned what my Tuva told you."

Koto just shrugged his committal. "Well I suggest we hit up Omega first. That place is a hub for the kind of jobs you're looking for."

"I'm glad you're the one in charge Shard. If we do find salvage jobs like you're talking about, we could probably find something for my people. I'm in. I'll be over in engineering if you need me." Tali left the three krogan in the cockpit.

"Sounds good, let's hit up Omega. I've heard a lot about this place. You plan to be our pilot Koto?"

"I've flown before. Won't be a problem." He turned and sat himself in the pilot's seat, starting his pre-flight check. Jaq joined Shard as she moved out of the cramped area. The two girls took a seat at a table tucked into the corner of the navigation area. A map of the galaxy started to focus onto their current location, setting a marker on the spot that Shard assumed would be Omega.

"So," Jaq leaned over the table, her hands tucked under her chin as she looked up into Shard's eyes, "you're in charge are ya?"

Shard actually blushed and looked nervous. Jaq had to laugh at that, and reached over to grab her hand. "Oh my god, you should have seen your face. You're too uptight sometimes Red. I don't want to run this bird. And I think we both know I'm more of a smash and crash kind of gal, not the heroic speeches and leader type. Not like you."

Shard squeezed her hand in return. "That's very kind of you to say Jaq. I'll do my best. I hope that besides having fun for ourselves out there, we also find a way to help others."

"Always trying to play the hero. Never change Red."

"No worries friend, I don't plan to."

* * *

The Surtesh pulled out of dock and quickly broke atmosphere as it made its way from Tuchanka, heading straight for the nearest mass relay. In a few more moments, it was gone in a bright blue light. It's exit was noted as the nearby STG listening post marked the activation of the relay. Calls were put out back to the Salarian homeworld and the Citadel. Before she had even had time to get to know the galaxy, it had already made note of her and her team's entrance onto the galactic stage.

* * *

The Surtesh pulled into dock on Omega, the locking mechanism clicking into place. The four team members waltzed out, looking to many as if they thought they already owned the world. When they made their way through the small dock, the station opened up and they found themselves standing in front of a large club.

"Wow..."

"Keelah"

"Fuck"

"Heh"

Tucked inside this hollowed out rock, filled with smoke, covered in grime, there must have been millions of beings. Humans, batarians, elcor, volus; species from every corner across the known galaxy seemed to call this place home. Or prison. Shard couldn't decide. Still there was something about it. Some kind of energy in the air that got her blood pumping. She stepped over a puddle as she moved towards the club. Seems like it got someone else's blood pumping too.

They were about to get in line when a batarian with a gun pulled out stepped at them from the side.

"Human, you and your crew need to get to Aria now. She wants to see you."

Shard looked to her left and right, and then rolled her eyes as she understood this male's mistake. She made a mental note to not bother correcting everyone she met who mistook her for a human. Those who knew didn't need to be told, and everyone else wouldn't understand. Shard had heard of Aria before, in her lessons on Tuchanka to educate her about the nature of politics inside and outside of Citadel space. When she didn't say anything back, the batarian took what she assumed was a threatening step forward, only then seeing just how large she was.

Jaq moved in front of her friend, shoving the male back a step. "Fuck off four eyes. We're minding our own business. We'll see your boss when we feel like it."

The batarian had to work to get his anger back under control enough to growl out at them, "Aria isn't known for her patience. She's in Afterlife. Either go see her now, or I'll have to chuck your bodies out of the nearest airlock. And I already have a full enough day as it is." He stomped off into the distance.

Koto shrugged. "Well let's go see her. She's not known for meeting with just anyone. She probably remembers you from your little video." Shard had nearly forgotten about it. Having that kind of reputation has served her well with outsiders so far. She may as well take advantage of it. The group moved past the line and into the dark club. Hard synth music and throbbing bass pulsed off the walls. Erotic dancers, half of them naked already, were moving their bodies to the beat. There was a bar set up in the center, and what looked like a message board near the back exit. Shard made a mental note to check it later to see if she could find any job postings.

Jaq's head was bobbing to the music as she moved with her group. The heat in the place was getting to her a little bit, beads of sweat forming around her neck. The gyrating asses all around her didn't help much. As they neared a staircase in the back of the club, a turian guard waved them through, letting them know Aria was waiting for them. At the top, inside a private lounge, Aria halted them with a lazy wave of her hand. Without another word, the guards and dancers drew their weapons on the crew.

"The fuck is this bullshit?" Jaq's fist started to glow blue. Next to her Tali's omni-tool activated, ready to start several of its security protocols. Koto had his hand on his shotgun, ready to pull it out on a moment's notice. Shard though, seemed unmoved by all the commotion.

Shard's eyes had dilated at the threats all around her, but she tried to play it cool. She cocked her hip, putting one hand on it, the other making an annoyed gesture. "Cut the crap Aria. If you wanted us dead, you'd have taken us out before we even docked. And I can only assume you know who we are since we only just got here. So why don't you put your dick back in your pants and just tell me what you want?"

Jaq was a little shocked truth be told. She was supposed to be the one with the smart mouth. Looks like she might have been rubbing off a little bit on her friend. Aria nodded towards one of her guards and the rest put down their weapons. Shard did the same to her group and they followed her lead.

Aria turned around to get a good look at them. "My, they certainly grow them big on Earth. Or I guess in your case I should say Tuchanka. So tell me, Shard, what are you doing here?"

Shard rubbed the back of her neck, trying not to show the intimidation she felt in the pit of her stomachs facing off against the centuries old kingpin. "We're just here looking for a good time and some work. We're not trying to start trouble for anyone." She put weight on her back foot, squaring her shoulders to stand at her full height. "But we're not looking to be fucked with either Aria. So either hire us or let us out of here."

Aria sat and leaned back in her expensive looking couch, a smile without mirth crossing her face. "I make it my business to get to know anyone who comes to my little kingdom. Especially those who aren't afraid to bare their teeth when needed. Just remember one thing. You don't fuck with my interests and I don't fuck with you. Well, not unless you become one of my better...earners." Shard shivered at the look in the asari's eyes. "If you're looking for work, I know of a few people hiring. Mostly looking for muscle, a few off station jobs. Lots of raids being planned. You can find out more at the message board downstairs." In a flash, Aria's face showed the signs of her boredom taking hold again, "Now, get the hell out of here." She turned her head away as her men moved Shard's crew back the way they came.

The four of them made their way to the bar, if for nothing else to find a place to steady their legs. Koto seemed like this was no problem for him. Tali on the other hand seemed ready to fall over. Jaq and Shard each let out a breath to steady their nerves.

"I've seen asari before but no one like that. She was on a whole other level."

Jaq only nodded back at her tall friend.

"Keelah, that was intense. I thought we were going to get shot. Then I thought she wanted to have sex with you. Honestly, I think both were possibilities with that woman."

"Yeah, that's Aria alright. She just wanted to show us who had the biggest quad around and to remind us not to get in her way." He looked over at Shard. "So you remember that if you find yourself wanting to be a hero. Odds are if you help someone on this station, you'll find yourself going against her." Koto pointed back towards the balcony. "Not a smart thing to do unless you got yourself an army.

Shard motioned the bartender over and ordered a drink. When it was swiftly returned by a winking Turian woman, Shard downed it in one gulp. She paid it off quickly with a few taps from her omni-tool, taking out a small bit of the credits Wrex had given her for her little adventure. "I'll remember that Koto. Don't worry."

Koto nodded back to her and stretched his legs out. "Well I'm going to go out and see if I can get us some contacts and supplies. Tali, come with me. I don't know what you eat and I don't want you dying of hunger before we make it to the next system."

"I brought enough for myself for the next several months. I only need nutrient paste after all. But I could use some things for the ship. And I'll keep an eye out for any job potential. Sound good...Captain?"

Shard seemed taken back a little bit and tried to laugh it off. "I'm not military Tali. You don't have to bother with titles like that." Tali only shook her head.

"No. You are in charge of the ship. You protect your crew. You are our captain." And with that she headed off, a laughing Koto at her side.

Shard hardly knew what to make of it when she looked back at Jaq. The smaller woman just shrugged her shoulders. "Don't look at me Red. I can't help what pet names your girlfriend gives you." Shard puckered in annoyance at Jaq and turned around to go have a look over at the message board while the other woman ordered several drinks.

Most of it looked like standard stuff. 'Need help with my enemies, my wife is cheating on me, my rich uncle needs an accident blah blah blah' But there were a few things that caught her attention. A corporation had posted a bounty on anyone who could help them answer a distress beacon on a planet, a man was looking for his brother who had not been heard from in the past several weeks and a colony was looking to hire a few extra guards to help fend off against possible pirate attacks. Shard marked each one of note in her omni-tool and turned back towards the bar.

Problem was, her seat was now occupied by an overweight human, who was sweating all over Jaq.

"Come one slag, my credits are good. And I could help loosen that tight little ass of yours. Looks like you need it."

"Fuck off creep." Jaq grabbed the man by the back of his head, and slammed his nose into the bar. A wet crunch could be heard over the music, and he fell from his stool. He clutched his bloodied nose and rolled around wailing like a stuck pyjak. Shard hardly passed a glance at the man as she stepped on his stomach on her way over him.

"Come on Jaq. I found us some jobs. Let's go find someplace a bit cleaner to talk about it."

"On my way Red," Jaq took a little longer than she needed to catch up. She leaned over the man, grabbing his middle finger in her hands before twisting it to the side. Happy with the pain she put him through, she moved to catch up.

The two women moved into the lower levels of Afterlife, but before they could find themselves a place to talk, the heard running towards their rear. Turning, they saw several men, more humans, rushing at them.

"Cunts! You're gonna pay for what you did to our captain." These piss ants smelled of too much alcohol and not enough brains by Shard's estimates. What followed couldn't be called a fight by krogan standards. One ended up with his pants down, his head stuck in a pile of reeking garbage. Another who had decided it would be a good idea to pull a gun on Jaq, was now falling over the balcony. Shard had pushed her fingers into the nose of the last man who came at her with a knife, and with a quick tug to the side, had actually ruptured his nostrils. Despite the quick fight, it had done enough to rouse the spirit of the two women. They were now standing back to back, their hands resting on the other's hips as they leaned into each other. Shard stood back up, regaining her breath. Jaq smiled back up to her a gleeful look in her eyes now.

"Hey Red. You know, it's getting pretty late. I know we could go back to the ship and all but what do you think about grabbing a drink with me and then heading back to get a room?"

Shard shook her head and laughed down at her shorter friend. "Jaq, you poet. You should write a book. You could call it 1001 ways to woo a krogan."

"Well if you want I could send you a mating contract, but the fine print on those things are a bitch." Shard pulled her closer as they continued their way towards the lower level of Afterlife. They found themselves a quiet booth in a dark corner. While Jaq ordered several rounds of drinks, Shard sent a message to Tali and Koto not to wait up for them.


	13. Chapter 13 - Adult situations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS STORY WILL HAVE SEX SCENES. I DON'T SHY AWAY FROM SCENES I FIND ENJOYABLE. I DON'T PLAN TO DO IT EVERY TIME IT IS IMPLIED, BUT WHEN I DO, IT WILL BE IN A SEPARATE CHAPTER THAT CAN BE SKIPPED. IT WON'T HAVE ANY PROGRESS IN TERMS OF STORY, JUST FLUFF AND SMUT. FEEL FREE TO SKIP, OR STICK AROUND TO ENJOY.**

 **I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

The music was still pounding in the lower levels of Afterlife, but not to the extent it had been in Aria's lair. Their table was already littered with the discarded bottles of several rounds of drink. It made them hotter still, already sweating from the natural temperature of the station. Their close proximity to each other didn't help things.

Jaq couldn't believe her ears when she heard a giggle, an honest to god giggle, escape from the towering woman. Her voice had usually carried a husky tone, filled with bass. Now the lightness that were usually on the edge of it seemed to come out in droves.

"I..I think I may have overestimated my ability here Jaq." She lounged lower into the soft booth. This almost brought out the predatory nature Jaq had always harbored but she tried to keep it at bay.

"Oh come on Red. One more won't kill you. Besides, I thought with all that cybershit you have jammed up your ass, you could handle a little drink."

Shard just eyed the 15 bottles that were toppled on top of each other and gave Jaq an incredulous look.

"Oh I'm sorry princess, I guess I worked you over too hard," with a glint in her eye, Jaq lifted her leg over Shard's lap, straddling her. Her arms came around the muscular neck, and she began to rub into her skin. "Maybe I need to tuck you in for the night." She pulled herself closer to Shard's lips, brushing them ever so slightly. She could feel Red's breath begin to pick up it's pace, the warmth driving her wild. An idea then crossed Jaq's devious mind.

"You know Red," she pulls back slightly, lifting on her knees on Shard's thighs so they can look into each other's eyes, "I always figured you were like this."

"I..I don't know wha-"

"Oh come on. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. If you wanted me, no one here could stop you from pinning me over this table and having your way with me. I couldn't...I wouldn't. So I have to figure, if this is something you really want, and I think you do," Jaq leaned in closer so she could whisper into Shard's ear and she felt a tumble in her stomach when she felt Shard's arms reach around her waist, "then that means you want me to take charge."

Without waiting for her admission, Jaq bit into the woman's ear, tugging at her lobe slightly. Her tongue wrapped around it, sliding behind it, and then down to her neck to the top of her armor. Shard's powerful arms flexed against her and she could feel them through her suitweave.

"Come on, we're wearing way too much for my liking. I took the liberty of ordering us a room around the corner while you were sending a message to the rest of the crew." Jaq got back to her feet, her grip like iron around Shard's wrist, pulling the much larger woman out of the booth. On their way to the room, they would stop every now and then when Jaq couldn't go another step without tasting Shard's lips. She would push her to the closest wall, sometimes even into other people who would shrug them off and seek cover elsewhere. A fit of giggles would follow until Shard finally felt herself pressed against a door frame.

Jaq quickly got the door open and they stumbled inside, Jaq landing on top of Shard. Jaq leaned back and slammed the door shut, looking down at the other woman, her eyes hazy. Fueled by lust and booze. She reached up only to have her arms pinned back down above her head, Jaq once again crashing into her lips, this time biting and tugging on her lower lip. Jaq then leaned back up, putting a finger against Shard's pink lips and started to remove her armor. The pieces were thrown away, no thought given to any kind of orderly pile. Soon Shard found herself being straddled by a half naked woman, her tattoos lit by a neon light peeking between the curtains.

"I want you to touch me now Shard. I want you to do everything I tell you to do." Shard swallowed down her nervousness. She could barely understand it herself, but a part of her had always wanted this. She had spent so much time looking out for Jaq, for her people, always trying to keep a level head. But now, she wanted someone else to take control. To tell her what to do. She reached up and cupped two small but perky breasts. Her hands were large enough so she could cover them. She began to message the flesh, feeling a small hard nub poking between her fingertips. Jaq closed her eyes and reached down, starting to unbuckle Shard's chestplate.

It took a few moments more but by the time they were both out of their armor they were panting, ready to continue their very enjoyable exploration of each other. Jaq stood in front of Shard, her face nestled between her breasts. They were muscular, like all of Shard, but one would always be able to tell she was a woman. Jaq turned around, reaching behind her back so her hands wrapped around the top of Shard's ass. Her own, more shapely than the other woman, round and soft, and very warm, began to grind into Shard.

"You like that Red? You like feeling my ass pressed against your wet pussy?"

"Ja-Jaq...shit." It was all she could get out. Jaq smiled up at her through heavy eyelids, the picture of seduction. And with a shove powered by her biotics sent Shard falling onto the mattress. She stepped onto the bed, standing directly over her friend's face. She then knelt down, pressing Shard's lips against her vagina.

"Shard I'm going to be very clear." He hands tightened on red hair. "I want that pretty tongue of yours to lick my cunt, until I cum all over your face. Do you understand?"

Shard nodded her agreement to the rough treatment, her own vagina getting wetter. She began to lick between her friend's folds, and rubbed her thighs together. Jaq must have enjoyed the feeling and felt generous because she saw what Shard was doing and leaned back so she could reach between her legs. "Don't worry bitch. I got ya." A finger shot into Shard sending a jolt through her body. Her tongue started to move faster as Jaq began to grind against her, her clit pressed firmly against Shard's nose. Not wanting to leave her out, Jaq's thumb moved up slightly, pushing down against Shard's clit and she began to slowly build up her speed. Both continued in this way, moans and whimpers filling the room, until they were both going at a pace neither could deal with for long.

"Jaq...Jaq, I'm gonna cum Jaq...please...don't stop..." Shard's word sent more vibrations into Jaq, her hand clenching tighter into Shard's hair.

"Fucking gorgeous god damn pyjak fucking slit licking bitch...fuck...right there you bastard." Jaq's unique poetry found its way out of her again. Both women felt the pressure build from the very base of their souls. Her orgasm racking her body, Shard thrust up against Jaq's hand, her toes bent into the sheets. She squeezed on Jaq's beautiful ass while the raven haired woman felt her own wave of pleasure wash down into Shard's mouth. She collapsed into Shard's waiting arms, both women spent and panting.

Jaq was about to just close her eyes and fall asleep, when she felt a strong hand rubbing her cheek. She looked over at Shard, straight into the greenest eyes she had ever known.

"Jaq..."

"Heh, sorry babe, if I got a little rough with you there. Hope you didn't mind." Jaq seemed to blush at the hand caressing her with so much care.

"I loved it Jaq. I've wanted to do that with you for so long now." Jaq saw the shadow cross her friend's face and it was her turn to put her hand onto Shard's cheek.

"Jaq...we've been through so much together...and I used to think all we would ever know was a life of misery and pain. When...those bastards...used to break me apart every day just to stitch me together again...I used to think about ending it all. But...the only thing that kept me going...the only thing that made things look a little better...was the idea of you. Just you."

Jaq was taken aback. She had felt the same towards Shard. All these years she had felt it. But she could never put it to words. Of course Shard had been able to. She had always been the smart one. "Shard...I. I don't know what to say. I'm not good with this kind of shit...not like you..." She tried to get something else out, anything. Anything to let Shard how much she appreciated everything she had done for her. For being her rock against the crashing waves.

"Shhh. It's OK. No more words. Just come here and...hold me." Jaq smiled back and gave Shard a deep kiss. Less fueled by hunger but filled with a different kind of passion. "I'll always have your back Jaq. Until the stars burn out. This I promise."

A tear crawled out of the corner of Jaq's eye. "This I promise." The two women clung to each other for the rest of the night.


	14. Chapter 14 - Maw Company

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Artificial light, brighter than what counted for night on Omega, peeked through the blinds into the dingy motel room. The bed was a mess of tangled sheets and legs. Shard's arms stretched over both sides of the bed, Jaq hanging over her chest. The alcohol from the night before helped push the two into a deeper sleep than they could normally enjoy. But the light now piercing Shard's eyes was ruining the mood.

She groaned and tried to roll onto her side to get away from the annoyance. Unfortunately for Jaq, this meant she got dumped onto her head on the stained carpet. Her legs actually came over her head as she tumbled backwards, coming to a sitting position. Groggily she looked at Shard and decided if she had to be up, she wouldn't be the only one. She shoved her with a biotic push that sent the mattress off of the frame, and Shard along with it.

"Aw come on Jaq, I was sleeping," came a very un-krogan-like whine.

"Well you should have thought about that before you dumped me on my ass." Jaq cocked one of her hips, and folded her arm. Shard realized neither were wearing any clothes yet and smiled at the sight. Jaq made a motion with her hand, lifting Shard off the ground and pulling her toward her. "You're lucky you're hot." She planted a quick kiss on Shard's lips and then smacked her on her ass. "Now get dressed, we got work to do."

Shard rubbed a sore spot, "And here I thought I was in charge." They laughed some more, putting their armor and weapons back in place before heading back to their ship.

* * *

"Glad you could join us ladies. Had a fun night?"

"Shut up Koto. Did you get enough supplies?"

"Yeah we got it. You found us any jobs captain?"

"Ugh, you too?" Tali rubbed her hands together nervously. "I mean, it's not a problem and I'm honored Tali really. It's just strange."

"Heh-heh, it's got a good ring to it don't you think Jaq? Captain Urdnot Shard? We got a warlord in the making over here. Ha-ha-ha-" Shard shut him up with a headbutt that sent him sprawling to the floor.

Shard smirked down at him and rubbed the back of her gauntlet against her forehead. "Yeah I found us some jobs. Here." She sent the contacts she picked up to the others' omni-tools. "First one I'm interested in is about some missing guy. A Sean Myers. His brother promises a reward if we find him. We can go talk to him down in Gozu District."

Tali stepped over Koto. "Well don't keep the captain waiting." Koto was a little surprised at the comment. Shard must have been rubbing off of the girl.

* * *

The crew made their way to the lower residential area of the station by shuttle and were nearing the resident of Alexander Myers, the owner of the bounty. Shard stood at the head of her pack and moved in front of a door tucked into a corner next to a bank console. She reached out and rang the bell before hearing a voice through the thin metal.

"What do you want?"

"We're looking for Mr. Myers. We saw his post about his brother. We're willing to take up the job."

After a few moments, the entrance to the room went green and opened to the four crew members. "And who the hell are you?" Shard smiled. She had been waiting for the chance to use the name she picked for her crew earlier this morning.

"We're Maw Company. I'm Captain Shard." She could practically feel Tali beaming next to her. "You're Alex I assume? Let's cut to the chase. Where do you think your brother is?"

"Hell if I know. Frankly I normally wouldn't care. That bastard has always squandered away anything he's owned or that he borrowed from me on drink and whores. But he found himself in possession of something valuable for once. Something he owes me. So I need someone to find him and bring him to me."

"And exactly what is it that's so valuable you're willing to pay this kind of money just to find it again? Must be worth your while to do through all this trouble." Shard leaned back into her hip, her arms crossed."

"It's none of your business. Now are you going to take the contract or not?" Jaq sneered at the man now, but it was Tali who spoke up first.

"You should watch your mouth when you talk to our Captain like that. She deserves your respect human."

"Fuck you suitrat." In a fast motion Shard pulled him into a headlock, wrenching until a scream escaped his lips.

"Apologize to the lady."

"Ah ahhhh, I'm sorryI'MSORRYLETGO" Shard shoved him back and winked down at her quarian friend. Tali felt bolstered by the respect shown to her by Shard and knelt down towards the coughing man.

"I saw the post you made. It's four weeks old. You don't have a lot of takers on the contract. So if you don't want our help, we have better things to be doing."

"Like getting my ass waxed. Let's just blow his brains out and take what we need," Jaq bluffed.

"Wait wait wait. It's a star chart. A new one. He-he won it in a poker game one night." Jaq backed off and Alexander got back to his feet. "My brother told me it had details about some eezo rich planets out in the Traverse. I've been trying to get in touch with him ever since. Look, that prick owes me a lot, and as far as I'm concerned that chart is mine."

Koto grumbled in the rear. "You want us to steal it for you."

"Look krogan. What I want you to do is find my brother. After that, it's my business. He is missing. I didn't lie. He was last seen talking to some of Aria's guards at his favorite dive. I'm afraid he might have run his mouth about what he found, and someone took him out to get it."

Shard was silent for a moment. "Half now, half later. We've been screwed before. Take it or leave it." Alexander mumbled about scam artists as he moved his fingers to send half the agreed bounty to Shard's omni-tool.

"What's the name of this 'dive?'"

"A pisshole called The Fat Asari. It's about two blocks away."

"We'll start there then. Move out."

* * *

"First job people, let's get it right first try. Koto and Jaq, talk to the guards in the area. See if you can sniff anything out. Me and Tali will get a feel from the bartenders and dancers."

"Oh I see how it is," Jaq leaned against Koto cocking her eyebrow up at him, "Red fucked me silly just so she could take her girlfriend out and leave us with the real work." Koto laughed his agreement.

"Wha-what? We're not..I mean I don't think we are...I mean um-" Tali rambled out.

"Calm down Tali. Jaq's just screwing with you."

"No, I did that to you."

"Shut up Jaq. And get to work." Jaq and Koto's laughter traveled around the corner as the moved onto their objective.

Shard looked down and put her arm around Tali's shoulder. "It's fine Tali. She understands. Come on. Let's get to work."

"Ye-" Tali knew Shard wouldn't want to see her so timid. "Yes captain. Ready when you are."

"Good." The two females saddled up to the bar. Despite the early hour of the station, it was still packed. Shard imagined the night life never stopped on Omega. A salarian female was wiping down the bar.

"What's your poison ladies?"

"Nothing right now. We're on the job. Hoping you could help us out. We're looking for a human male. Name's Sean Myers." She pulled up his picture that had been attached to the job posting. "Heard he liked to hang around your lovely establishment. Seen him lately?"

"Yeah I know that cloaca. He's got a tab about as long as your tits. Look if you want to collect some money from him good luck. Give him a bullet for me too."

"Nothing like that. His brother wants us to find him. How about any of the dancers? You see him talking to any of them before? More than usual?"

The salarian rubbed her chin. "He was sweet on an asari. Trila. But she's been out for four days. Talk to her friend. Over there. The batarian dancer at table 3."

Shard left a tip with the bartender and moved over to table 3. Shard had never seen a batarian female before. Not much about them on the extranet. And Cerberus only seemed concerned with the males. She was heavier set than the males of the species. Curvy in all the right places, and had two sets of breast instead of two. Goes with the eyes Shard figured. As they made their way to the table, the occupants left the booth, leaving the dancer free.

"Hello madams. May I pleasure you with a dance? It'll only cost you 20 credits."

"Actually we just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"I apologize mistress. But I am not allowed to speak to the patrons unless a dance is paid for." She gave a suggestive look to Shard waiting for the payment."

"Well if you insist." Shard turned to Tali and started to tap her foot. "Well, you heard the lady. Get in the table and get the dance." Tali was sure her mask wasn't enough to cover her shocked expression.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because it'll make me smile. Come on, you'll like it." Tali hesitantly moved into the seat at the table as Shard paid the tab. She was almost sitting on her hands as the batarian started to sway her hips, inches away from Tali's body.

"I heard you know a woman by the name of Trila. And her friend Sean Myers. A human male. We're looking for them."

"Yes mistress, I know of Trila. I hope not to displease you, your mightiness, but Trila is a friend, one of the few I have and I do not wish to hand her over to enemies."

"She doesn't have anything to fear from me. I just want to talk to her. I promise."

"I have been hurt before with the promises of powerful warriors like you madam."

Shard stepped closer and softened her eyes. "On my honor to mother Tuchanka, Trila will come to no harm from me or my crew."

The dance ended and the dancer sat on the edge of her stage. She looked from the quarian back to Shard before tapping out an address into her omni to send. "You can find her here. But please, do not tell her I told you."

"You don't have to worry. Thanks for the dance. Have a nice day. Come on Tali." The quarian moved stiffly from her seat but was stopped when the batarian moved into her path. Shard couldn't hear what they said to each other, but Tali looked even more flustered when she caught up to her captain.

"What was that about?"

"She uh, she gave me her contact. And her work schedule."

Shard erupted with laughter and held out her fist. Begrudgingly Tali lightly tapped her fist against Shard's, letting out a sigh while she did it. "I hate you."

"Nah, you don't."

* * *

They met back up with Jaq and Koto at the entrance.

"Any luck Koto?"

"Bad news boss. Myers is dead."

"What do you mean?"

"Guards say they found a body in a wreck a few hours ago. In a nearby district. Was a mess. Not much left but ash. Found his ID in the car with him."

Shard frowned. Something didn't smell right. She looked over at Jaq.

"What do you think?"

"Doesn't sound right to me Red. How often do you see wrecks so bad they don't even leave enough behind for a DNA scan? And his ID just happened to make it through? Bullshit. Can't believe Koto here bought it."

"Didn't say I bought it. Just didn't really care. If he's dead or not, we can tell his brother we found his body."

Shard shook her head. "Jaq's right. It's too convenient. And besides we got a lead. Follow me. We gotta go meet a dancer."

Jaq smiled as she turned to follow. "I'm liking this mission more and more."

* * *

Maw Company made its way to the small apartment that the dancer told its captain about. As Shard was about to ring the door, she heard some shouting inside. A man's voice. And a woman. She figured no one was about to answer in the middle of a fight so she called Tali forward. "Get this door open."

Tali's swift motions made quick work of the lock. An asari and human looked up in surprise as they moved into the small living room.

"What is the meaning of this? Get out of my house now before I call the guards."

Koto just grumbled in annoyance. "She plans to call the cops on Omega? She must think we're new around here." Shard held her hand up to quiet the large male.

"Calm down. My name is Urdnot Shard. I'm looking for Sean Myers. I heard that he was a friend of yours Trila." The woman seemed shaken by the sudden events, and how much of her private life seemed to be very public information. Shard looked back over to the human male. "I assume you're Sean?"

"I..I don't know what you're talking abo..about."

Jaq shook her head. "Jig is up buddy. You're little ploy with the crash didn't work on us. We know who you are."

The man almost collapsed in a heap onto the couch. "Oh fuck, I knew it wouldn't work." The asari wrapped her arms around him and spoke in soothing tones.

"Sean, it was a good plan. We'll find a way, don't worry."

Shard stepped forward. "Look, we were hired to find you by your brother, but we're not here to take you in or anything. I just needed to find out where you are. I'll tell your brother, collect my award and we'll be out of your hair."

The man's eyes went wide and he shot up. "No! You can't tell Alex. He's trying to kill me. Ever since I found that damn star chart. I had to fake my death because he tried to shoot me at his apartment. You can't tell him where I am. He'll come for Trila." The man was frantic.

Koto rolled his eyes and shoved him back down before stepping back. "Look Shard we got what we needed. Let's just get out of here."

"Captain, if he's telling the truth, telling his brother about what we found may put the dancer in danger."

"You know I always got your back Red. You decide how we play this."

Shard weighed her options before speaking. "Look. No one knows we figured out you faked your death. We'll just tell him that's what happened. But in exchange, I want that star chart."

Sean didn't even wait for her to finish the sentence. "Take it. It's only brought me problems. Thing's cursed."

Shard was momentarily stunned. He had just handed over a fortune and didn't seem to care. "Do you know what is on here?"

"Yeah I know. And I don't care. I just want to be safe. Me and Trila." The asari smiled over at him and put a hand on his cheek.

Shard hadn't expected to find this on Omega. It reminded her a bit of her Tuva and Siva. "Well, it's a deal. We'll take care of it.

Before she could turn to leave, she heard several weapons get unhooked from armor and knew without looking they were being trained on them. Then she heard the familiar voice of Alexander Myers.

"Thanks for finding my brother. Don't take it too hard, but there's been a change of plans."


	15. Chapter 15 - Should Have Just Paid

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

"Knew we couldn't trust this fucker. Should have just shot him and taken the rest of our pay." Jaq felt the barrel of the gun at her back press her forward more.

Alexander looked back at his men. "Let's get this over with. Kill em all. Starting with the tall one."

Shard spun as she felt the first bullets bounce off her shields. "Tali, overload now!" The quarian didn't hesitate, moving down into a crouch behind an island in the kitchen area. Her tech succeeded in overheating their attackers' weapons for a moment. Koto roared forward, running over one of the smaller opponents. A salarian by the looks of it. With a hard crunch, he stomped on their helmet until they stopped moving.

Another salarian jumped onto his hump and started stabbing him with a knife while Koto struggled to pry him off. Jaq and Tali were able to pull Trila and Sean back into cover. They returned fire to the attackers giving Shard and Koto some room to breathe. Shard pried the salarian from the back of Koto, lifting him over her head. She brought him down against her knee, and threw his broken body to the side. All he could do now was twitch. A blast from Koto's shotgun ended that.

"You should have just paid me Alexander. Now you're going to find out what happens when someone tries to fuck over Maw Company." Shard pulled out two knives from her belt and screamed as she ran towards the last of Alexander Myers forces.

"Bring that bitch down, shoot her, shoot her with everything you got."

All the guns trained on Shard, leaving a few of them open for a warp from Jaq. It hit one trooper in his helmet. The heat of the blast melted the metal down until it bit into the skin underneath. His screams were drowned out by the metal that had seared into his tongue and throat. Shard's shields were now spent as she towered over the last two. A shot hit her in her ear, detaching it from her head, and another hit her in her thigh. She collapsed onto her final opponent, but now she was close enough to get down to her wet work. She drove her knife down into the helmet, strong enough to pierce right through it. She pushed the corpse over so she could get her hands on Alexander.

"You god damn monster, get the fuck off of me." He tried to kick her away, a mad scramble of fists and feet doing all they could to get the large woman off of him. She took it all, never slowing down. With a few quick but powerful strikes she was able to disarm him and break his arm.

"Ahhhh OK OK wait wait wait." He scrambled backwards until his back was against the wall. "Look let's not get too hasty. I can see now that I may have made an error in judgement. But you look like a businesswoman to me. You know how it is. So how about I just give you what I owe you and we call it square?"

"Koto, get the credits. And watch him." Shard moved over to the couch and went about the process of removing the armor around her thigh where she had been hit. Tali and Jaq joined her.

"Captain, we need to get you to a doctor. It could have it an artery."

"I'm fine Tali. I just need to get the bullet out. Jaq?" With a knowing glance, Jaq pulled out her knife and knelt down near Shard.

"Ready?"

"Do it." Shard clenched her teeth as she felt the knife slice into her skin and muscle, reopening the wound that already sealed over. Shard blew out a breath and nodded back over to Jaq in thanks. She looked down to make sure it went out smoothly.

Tali could only stare in amazement. "What is happening?"

Jaq answered while Shard was preoccupied. "Good old fashioned Krogan biology. They regenerate. Quick too. Problem is, sometimes when you heal too quick, the body can't push out the bullets in time. So, you gotta make an exit." She wiped off Shard's blood from her knife and put it back in its place. Tali had to remind herself sometimes exactly what Shard was. Even now, the woman's ear had returned. It looked paler, and as if the outer layer of skin had not yet returned.

"Tali. Great job with that overload. If you hadn't been able to get that off, we wouldn't have time to get to cover. You saved our butts for sure. Here." Shard sent some credits to Tali.

"Captain, I can't accept this. I was just doing my job. As part of...you know...Maw Company." It felt nice to be part of something again.

Jaq smacked her on her back as Shard reapplied her armor. "Come on suit. Never hurts to get bonus pay. Maybe you can take that batarian out for a date later." Tali didn't answer which only made Jaq laugh harder.

"What do you want to do with him boss?" Koto pressed his foot down on their former employer.

"Did he pay?"

"Yeah, we got the rest of what was promised."

Shard looked over at Trila and Sean who came out of their cover. "Do you care what happens to this man?"

"Fuck him. He tried to kill Trila. He deserves whatever he gets." Shard nodded and moved over to kneel down next to Alexander.

"I have to say, things turned out quite differently than I thought they would. And I can understand your position, really I can. So I can hope you can appreciate mine as well." A hard look came across Shard's face and she reached forward, hauling the man up, his feet dangling above the ground. "You tried to kill my people. And I'm going to have to make sure everyone knows what happens when you try that." Shard pulled the man through the doorway and brought him out into the street.

"Oh man, I bet she's going to give another one of her heroic speeches. I'll need to brush my fucking teeth again. Koto, get the recorder going. She's gonna want it." The male nodded and started up his recorder as Shard started to pace around Alexander.

She looked directly into it. "Good evening. My name is Urdnot Shard. You may remember me from a little home movie I made a few years back. I have to say, I'm glad you all took it to heart and decided to leave me and Jaq alone. So I hope you don't mind if I take up a little more of your time for another little chat. You see, my parents Urdnot Wrex and Urdnot Bakara, decided it was time for me to see the galaxy. And so far I've enjoyed what I've seen. And I'm trying my hand in a little business venture. Koto, show them the team."

Koto moved the recorder so he could scowl into it, then over at Jaq who gave it her middle finger, next was Tali who was holding her shotgun out putting on her toughest looking posture. It finally came back to Shard who gave an easy smile. "We're Maw Company. And if you need help out there in the vast darkness, you can count on us. For a price. A girl's got to eat you know. And Tali over there is always making me buy her stuff."

Off camera Tali tried to shout over, "Wait that's not true you're the one always getting me gifts Capt-" Shard cut her off. "You see how bossy she is?" She gave a shrug and tapped out some contact information for her ship and sent it to Koto's omni-tool. "So give us a call and maybe we can work something out."

Suddenly, Shard's whole demeanor changed. Before she was easy going, looking to all watching to be a friendly face. Now she was the model krogan warrior. A bloodthirst gleamed in her eyes. She hauled Alexander into frame and squeeze his cheeks together in one hand. "But if you think of fucking us, of trying to take us out at the end of a job so you can save a few credits, I want you to remember this."

Shard grabbed the man's skull and turned it so it was staring up at her. She leaned back and brought her head forward with such force that it knocked him out instantly. She continued it over and over again, Alexander's eyes rolling back into his head. Blood splashed onto Shard's face. But she wouldn't stop. A cut had formed on her forehead and mixed in with Alexander's, but she didn't relent. By the time she was finished, there wasn't much of a face left. Her own was battered and bruised. She turned back to the camera, taking her broken nose in her fingers and pulling it back with a crunch to set it in place. She smiled again, blood staining her teeth. The recording ended and was sent out into the extranet.

* * *

The team returned home, to their ship. Shard was holding an ice pack to her eye while Tali applied some medigel to the scar that had formed on her forehead. They had left Omega behind after that little display. Shard didn't know if Aria would care, but their business on the station had finished. The response to the video was already being seen. She had more than a dozen jobs lined up, ready for the taking if she wanted them. Koto had found a buyer for parts of the star chart and collected it. This one job had turned a small fortune their way. The rest of the star chart, the parts closer to krogan space, she had sent to Bakara. She'd be able to find a way to use it right.

Jaq came into the dining area and handed Shard a beer. "Well, that was some fun shit. I liked Omega. You know, for a shithole." Shard smiled and took the drink. She had to wave Tali's hands away before she could enjoy it.

"I'm fine Tali really. A few more hours and I won't even have the headache anymore."

Tali gave a hard look through her faceplate. "Captain wasn't there an easier way to send a message? You could have just shot him."

"Too clean Suit. Red wanted everyone to get the point. This is a krogan company, and we handle problems the krogan way. You'll get used to it. I know you quarians aren't as soft as some people would like to believe."

Tali cocked one of her hips as Jaq put her feet up on the table. "And how would you know that Jaq?"

Jaq smiled back up that the woman, a beer mustache forming on her top lip from her own drink. "The extranet babe. It's a hell of a thing. You would not believe what I can find out about your people with just a few strokes from my little fingers." She raised her eyebrows suggestively at Tali who laughed back and knocked her feet off the table so she could pass.

"You're an ass Jaq."

Jaq leaned back into her spot and gave Shard a look over her shoulder. "I think your girlfriend is starting to like me Red."

Shard brought the cold beer can against her forehead and smiled back. "Well, she has pretty good tastes. Doesn't shock me."

Koto entered the room and started to pull out a slab of meat to prepare it for dinner for the crew. "So where to next captain? Got any other jobs lined up for us?"

"A few I'm still looking over. But I think we got something. Some corporation wants someone to look into a distress signal on a planet in the outskirts of Alliance space. Shouldn't be too hard."

Jaq got a worried look in her eyes, looking first at Koto then back at Shard. "You gonna be ok with that? Back in Alliance space I mean?"

Shard put her hand on Jaq's leg and rubbed it slightly. "I'll be fine Ripper. You don't have to worry about me. How about you?"

"Shit boss. You already know the deal. I go where you go. And besides, nothing we can't handle as long as we got each other's back right?"

"Always."

Koto rolled his eyes at all the feelings. Females. "Whatever. I'll launch us towards it once I finish dinner. What's the name of the planet?

Shard finished off her beer before crushing the can on the table. "Akuze."


	16. Chapter 16 - Unprepared

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

 **Confidential transmission:**  
 **Location: Surtesh space vessel**  
 **Sender: Urdnot Shard**  
 **Taker: Confidential**

 **Taker** : Outlandus Incorporated, how may I help you?  
 **Sender** : Uh, yeah, I don't know who is supposed to get this. I'm looking into a job your company posted about some issues you're having on Akuze.  
 **Taker** : Oh yes ma'am, one moment. Let me transfer you.  
 **Sender** : ...Jaq put that down...yes they answered...  
 **Taker** : McAdams, what do you want?  
 **Sender** : ...Jaq, Tali can't eat that leave her alone!  
 **Taker** : ...um, hello?  
 **Sender** : Oh, sorry [clears throat] This is Urdnot Shard of Maw Company. You guys needed someone to look into Akuze. I'm here to help you out. What do you need from us?  
 **Taker** : Urdnot Shard...oh yes...the human girl who bit that poor bastard's throat out. I have to say, I didn't expect someone like you to answer the post.  
 **Sender** : Then you shouldn't have put your post on Omega. Let's cut the shit. I don't care about your company secrets. I don't care about what you're doing or what you're hiding. I just want to do the job you posted about.  
 **Taker** : Calm down Urdnot. Frankly, we're not afraid of you finding anything. Who'd believe a mental case like you? But, we haven't had much luck finding help. It's why we had to even bother with a place like Omega. Outlandus has sunk a lot of money into Akuze to get it prepped for settlement. But the test colony we set up hasn't been answering. And when we sent some of our execs to find out what was going on, the only answer we got was a distress signal. We need to find out what's going on. Either find our people and bring them back or find evidence of who is fucking with our investment.  
 **Sender** : Won't be a problem. I want half up front. And I'll expect the rest when I contact you again. [End call]

* * *

"Jaq for the last time, I can't eat your food. It would poison me. Besides, I don't have the mouth slot for something that large." Tali wiped the residue of the food Jaq had smushed against her vocalizer.

"You're such a downer Suit." Jaq saw Shard end her call. "So, what's the word? We gotta find out some of this company's dark secrets or something?"

"The bounty says they just want us to find out what happened on their colony. Tali, were you able to learn anything about it?"

"Not much out of the ordinary. One of the Alliance's latest start-up colonies. Outlandus won the bid for the contract. They're one of the leading colony starters out there. They are even working some contracts for other governments."

A thought passed Shard. "You think that could have something to do with what happened to the colony? Have they gotten any heat from Alliance brass for working with aliens?"

"Now that you mention it, I did find mention of a few protests. Mostly from a group called Terra Firma."

Jaq scoffed. "Those fucks. I've heard of them. Think humans should just watch out for themselves. Screw 'em. I wouldn't mind cracking a few skulls on this job. Maybe we'll get lucky and find them."

Koto lurched into the room. "Those cowards wouldn't be there. They're all talk. Like all politicians."

Tali cleared her throat, "Um, isn't Wrex a politician." The three others slowly turned towards her and eyed her in silence. "Um, never mind. We should get to the planet in a few hours. I'll..just go...and make sure the engines are working alright." The three Urdnots then looked at each other, trying hard not to be the first to laugh.

* * *

The Surtesh touched down on Akuze a few hours later. Its hails met with silence. Tali was not able to pick up any comm activity around the planet either. That wasn't the only strange activity they found in their scans. There was another vessel near the colony, a single Alliance ship. Small, enough for a squad Shard figured. No communication had been answered, but it did send an acknowledgement of Shard's permission to be there.

Maw Company was decked out in full gear. Jaq took point, scanning the horizon. Koto followed up close behind. He was looking for any movement in the buildings. But it was like that human had said. Besides all the buildings and vehicles around him, it was as if there was no one left. Shard was peering into the scope of her sniper rifle.

"Tali, you get anything yet?"

"Only the distress signal. It's about half a mile over that ridge."

"Shit. You mean where that smoke is coming from suit?" Jaq cracked her neck. "Yeah, figures."

"Let's get there. But stay ready. I don't like the smell of this place. Almost reminds me of...home." Shard gave a steely glance over to Koto, who nodded in agreement.

When the four moved past the ridge, they found the source of the smoke. A vehicle was burning out of control. It had smashed into one of the prefabs making up the small colony. A school.

"Well...shit."

"Keelah. The colonists must have brought their children with them."

"Shard! You need to see this." Shard bit her lip, taking a last look at the burning school. She moved next to Koto. "Look familiar?"

"Alliance soldier by the looks of it. Dead and...looks like acid burns." She gave Koto a stern look and he nodded. "Thresher Maws." She turned back towards the other two crew members. "We got Maws ladies. This isn't going to be a simple run. Tali, I want you back in the ship and I want it ready to go in case we have to bug out. And link up a recording on the ship to our hardsuits. We'll need it to show what happened here."

"On my way Captain." Before Tali moved out, she placed a hand on Shard's arm and looked up at her. "Be careful."

Shard sent her off with a nod. Jaq came up behind her boss and couldn't help the smile that formed on her full lips.

"Never boring around you Red. Where we headed next?"

Shard moved further into the colony. Several prefabs were on fire. And more than a few were rubble. Sink holes could be seen where Shard figured a building used to be. "Those fucking worms. They know how to make an entrance boss."

"Captain, something isn't right." Shard looked over at the male next to her.

"Speak up Koto."

"Maws don't get off Tuchanka unless you want them to."

"Ha, yeah. Not picking up a lot of ship construction contracts are they? So, that means if they're here, then someone put them here. Doubt it was the corporation. They've sunk too much money into this dirt to waste it. Come on let's get to the distress signal. Might be some more answers."

The trio continued until they found the terminal the signal was coming from. But it wasn't alone. There were more dead Alliance soldiers nearby. Or what was left of them.

"Koto, something about this smell like shit to you?"

"Jaq?"

"I'm just saying, the pyjaks at the company don't hear from their people for a while and send someone down to check it out. And they find what we find. So they decide to send out a distress signal that fails to mention anything about the maws or the danger or calling for a nuke from orbit?"

"Aren't humans known for their secrets? Maybe they didn't want the wrong people snooping around."

"No, Jaq's right. Why else would the Alliance send a small squad to check it out? The signal was unclear. It's probably their standard procedure to look into any distress beacon they come across." Shard moved up to the console to get a closer look. With a few clicks she was able to turn it off. On a hunch, she decided to look into its systems. Sometimes if you knew what to look for you could get clues about who set these things up.

"What you doin' Red?" Jaq peeked around Shard's body.

"Trying to find out who set this up." Shard's fingers moved with practiced swiftness.

"You forgot who hired us boss? Outlandus set it up."

Shard was quiet while she leaned in to get a closer look at something.

"Right?" Jaq adjusted her grip on her shotgun.

"Oh fuck..."

"Find something captain?" Koto moved next to her. Her words started as a whisper but quickly built in volume, along with Shard's anger.

"Those bastards...those mother fucking bastards! It was them." Jaq looked from Shard to Koto still not understanding. "I've seen this before Jaq. I had to crack open a console like this before, back when we tried to escape. It was fucking Cerberus."

Jaq didn't say a word. Her biotics started to pop off around her. She leveled her shotgun at the console and blasted it to scrap.

Shard ignored the gunfire and began to speak into her omni-tool. "Tali, we found out who did this. It was Cerberus. I want that ship ready. We're getting the fuck out of here."

"Wait Shard, shouldn't we look around some more. They might be here still." Shard shook her head.

"Not their style. They probably have some monitoring devices around here so they can get some nice vids of children being eaten alive. Pass them around as party gifts. I don't know and I don't need to know why. Just another drop in the bucket. And we aren't getting paid to kill the maws. Not yet at least. Get moving, both of you." Shard was shaking now. It had been years since she had felt this fire in the pit of her stomachs. She could hardly focus. Then Jaq grabbed her hand. She looked down at it and up into her friend's eyes.

"I got you Red. Let's move." Shard had to get a lid on it. If she lost it out here, her team would be in for a world of hurt.

* * *

Tali had finished the preflight checks. All the systems were prepped. All she needed now was for her team to get back to the ship so she could get them off of this horrible planet.

An alarm started to sound off from a sensor. She moved her chair over to its location. Seismic activity. It let them know when an area was unsafe to land. And the area was moving. Towards Shard and the crew.

"Keelah," She opened up her comm, "Captain, they're coming straight for you. Hurry!"

* * *

Jaq looked back at the console they left behind. They had just made it back up the ridge. She knew what it was, even before she heard Tali screaming through her omni-tool. Nothing could kick up dirt like a Maw. But this wasn't the Rites. They hadn't prepared and they didn't have the high ground. Best she could do was haul ass as fast as she could.

Shard and Koto weren't far behind. They moved past a grocery store, their ship not half a mile away, when they heard a high pitched scream and the sound of twisting metal and breaking glass. The worm burst from underneath the store and was staring down at the three.

They couldn't stop though. "Just keep moving. Jaq, throw down a stasis, try to keep it pinned there." Jaq followed the command, giving it as much strength as she could. It was holding, slightly. But it wasn't easy. Even with the stasis in place, the worm was shifting. It would move side to side in a sudden burst of speed before it was caught back up in the biotic field. Jaq stumbled with the effort.

Shard could see her friend was having trouble. She told Koto to move on ahead, they wouldn't be far behind. Shard put her friend's arm around her shoulder, pulling her along.

"Go on Shard I got this. I don't need you to drag my ass."

"Shut up Jaq. I just wanted to feel you up. Can't blame a girl for trying." Shard tried to put as much confidence as she could muster into the comment. It was enough to at least get a laugh out of Jaq. But then she squeezed her eyes shut and her barrier shattered. The Maw was pissed off now, in a frenzy. It slammed its body into the ground, smashing more buildings. Then more of its body emerged from the ground, rearing back, ready to strike.

Shard saw it coming before Jaq could react. The barrier had taken a lot out of her. She shoved her out of the way just before the Maw's mouth smashed into the ground, around Shard.

Jaq could only stare in horror. The Maw bit into the ground, lifting itself back up.

"No no no you can't have her you shit eating fuck! Let her go!" Jaq started to unload into the Maw's body. Its natural armor was just too think to be pierced. She put her gun down and refocused her mind. She put her arms out, making a motion as if trying to pry something apart. Blue waves crashed into the plates at the base of the worm and with a wet tear, were sent crashing into nearby buildings.

The pain tore up the Maw and made it falter. Then Jaq could see. Its mouth had opened and Shard was still inside. She was holding onto the sharp teeth inside its mouth. Her own shotgun was out now, unloading into the back of the throat. Jaq felt a wave of hope hit her and was about to shoot again into the now unarmored belly.

But before she could pull her trigger, the worm spat up acid. It splashed on Shard's left side, burning against her helmet and arm. Jaq heard Shard scream like she used to when they were still experiments for Cerberus. Instantly her mind was pulled back to the labs, to the needles. Shard's grip must have faltered because the Maw's jaws clenched shut. But not all of Shard had been inside the mouth this time.

An armored arm holding a shotgun fell by Jaq's feet. Part of the armor was peeled away and she could see familiar tattoos on the skin. She couldn't hold it back anymore. She pulled her trigger as fast as she could, tears burning into her eyes.

"Shard!"


	17. Chapter 17 - Surviving Akuze

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

White hot rage filled Jaq's veins. She didn't think. She couldn't think. Not about what to do when her last thermal clip overheated. Not about what to do when she ran out of options. Not about what happened to Shard. Shard.

Eyes flashing blue, Jaq threw her gun to the ground and used her powers to create what felt like platforms under her feet. She launched into the air as the beast, the devourer, tried to crash into where she had been standing. Once she was about 50 feet above its head she flipped over, now falling, with her fist stretched towards the maw. It pulled out of another destroyed prefab, shaking debris from its head. It didn't have time to look up before Jaq crashed with a roar into its hard plate at the base of its head. Cracks spiderwebed through the hard shell that plated the maws neck.

Upon impact, pain broke Jaq out of her bloodrage. She could tell her arm was broken, her hand mostly shattered. She was lucky to be alive at all. Her rush barrier was all that saved the warrior from becoming a stain against the mighty foe. Jaq clung now to the maw's back. She could tell its breathing had become erratic. Between this and the wounds she inflicted to its underside, it had seen better days. She reached into a slot in her armor and pulled out two charges, already prepped. She always liked to be prepared.

"Alright you gruesome son of a bitch, you're hungry? I got a fucking snack for you." She could taste copper in her mouth, coming up against her will from the back of her throat. She didn't have time to worry about it. She didn't want to worry about it. The spirit of her friend called out for vengeance. She pushed through the cracks in the maw's hide, planting the charges against the soft tissue. She was about to leap off her perch when the maw regained its senses.

A high pitched screech cut through the air. Jaq put her hands against her ears just to keep her ear drums from bursting. But doing so caused her to lose her grip. The maw bucked underneath her, and the lithe woman was tossed unceremoniously into the rubble of the area. It took as much force as she could muster to get back to her feet. And even then she had to lean against what was left of a metal support beam. Blood blinded her in one eye as it crawled down her face. She reached behind her back to pull out her detonator. Before she could activate the charges inside the maw, her body finally gave out. Her legs collapsed underneath her and when she fell, the detonator rolled just out of her reach.

Jaq coughed out a bitter laugh. It's all she had left. Shard was dead. She was beaten. And her blood that cried out for revenge was left unsated. "Shit. Tuva would have pups if he could see this." She pulled herself into a seated position, looking up at the worm. It was hunched over slightly, coiled around the wound in its belly. But despite the obvious pain it was in, she could also see its hunger, and the anger Kalros gave all of her children. "Well come on you piece of shit. I ain't got all fucking day." Jaq clenched her hands in the dirt, getting ready for the strike. But before she could be welcomed into the abyss, she heard three loud shots. High powered. From a sniper rifle. And the bullets tore through the skull of the maw towering above her. From the inside.

* * *

'Well this seems familiar.' Shard knew this place well. Wherever this was. Whatever it was. The scientist in her figured it had to be a trick of the brain. When faced with extreme trauma, it would do anything to protect itself. What some called near death experiences. And she's been near death many times. Closer to actual death a couple of times too. But her talks with her Siva made her wonder if this was what it was like, when the life force left behind the meat, to join back with the source.

She was so tired of coming here. Why couldn't she just move on? Why did she have to get hurt by her birth species? Why didn't they see children like the precious commodity they are? A shudder. Pride bristled. Her Tuva's voice.

 _"Get up tak. I didn't teach you to go quietly into the abyss. The only thing I'll accept is something that'll make it remember your passing. Like an explosion. Or a black hole. Now get your hump up and go help Jaq!"_

Jaq!

 _"Aw what's wrong bitch? Got yourself a little scratch? Want me to kiss it all better? Well it ain't gonna' happen if you don't interrupt your little nap here. Now wake up!"_

Shard's eyes shot open, but she could still only see darkness. She was wet. There was a smell. Vibrations. Then light filled the area, through some sort of opening, with hundreds of sharp objects in front of it. A mouth. The maw's mouth. Her memory snapped back into place. With a quiet dread, she looked down to where she could now feel the burning coming from.

Her suit's metal frame had melted slightly. Thanks to many of the internal systems she created, it did what it could to counteract the acid. But it could only do so much. Some parts were worse off than others. Her hip was melted down to nearly the bone. Her flesh regenerated around her armor. It would have to be cut out so she could heal properly. Shard tried to remain as clinical as possible. She was doing a commendable job of it too, until she saw her shoulder. And not her arm.

"Well...shit." It hadn't grown back. Everything always grew back. Her mind raced to try to find an answer. What had changed? What was the new variable. Breathe Shard, breathe. She could practically hear Bakara chiding her for not staying calm. She was krogan, she wouldn't let this hold her back. There was time to understand later. Now she had to get out of here. Get back to Jaq, Koto and Tali. She looked around to get a better idea of where she was.

She had to smile at the luck that she found herself in. When she passed out, she should have been swallowed and digested. But she currently found herself stuck between two malformed teeth. Apparently this maw had chewed on some tough meat. The teeth in the back of its mouth had been shoved nearly horizontal, forming for lack of a better word, a chair. It was all that had saved Shard.

Her cave shook, she nearly was sent falling to her doom. She had to hold on for all she was worth just to stay in place. And then she had to hold on even tighter when she felt a screech scramble out of the back of the maw's throat. Like the spirits of the unavenged from beyond, it tore through her. She clenched her teeth, squeezed her eyes tight, but she could do nothing to protect her ears. All that was left was the ringing when it had finished. Shard could feel something warm and wet drip down her cheeks and neck.

"Mother Tuchanka, I hope that comes back." She felt the words come out of her mouth. "Time to get out of here. Not many options. Shot the back of its throat, that pissed it off. Maybe I should aim a little higher." Shard reached behind her back, carefully pulling out her sniper rifle. She laid down, using the teeth under her to brace the gun. This will either be her greatest triumph, or she'll end up being dissolved until there is nothing left but computer chips and bones. "Well, no pressure." Her finger squeezed three times, and she was actually glad her hearing had not returned yet.

* * *

The bullets pushed through anything in their way. Designed to leave holes large enough to make surviving an afterthought, it took out a good chunk of what the maw used to regulate the functions of its internal organs. She could actually see a little bit of light peek back down.

Outside, Jaq didn't want to let herself hope. There just wasn't any way the universe had built up enough good will over the years to give her this. The maw's head rolled slightly to the left, on the side the bullets split open. Its jaw hung a bit as well. It seemed as if in a daze, trying to stand after a night of drinking. When it finally crashed to the ground the momentum was enough to send something rolling out of its mouth.

Shard tumbled through the dirt and crushed rock. When she finally came to a stop, her face was planted. A slight crater had formed around her skull, dirt on each side of her face. She could feel her fingers touching something. Something metal and in the shape of a cylinder. She didn't know if she could move her legs, she didn't really want to try right now. Then something softer, cool, pressed against her head, running fingers through her hair. It felt...nice, nicer than anything else right now at least. Then, her hearing came back.

"Glad you could join me Red...good thing you got me here...to pick up after you...you know when you decide to...take a nap."

Shard didn't move her face, so Jaq couldn't see the smile on her face. She could only reach up with her hand and give a thumbs up. Trembling hands eased her onto her back so she could now look into the night sky of Akuze. Jaq's tired brown eyes looked down into her's. Blood had caked around one of them. Still didn't stop the cocky smile from leering at Shard. She tried to return it as best she could.

"Well...it looked like you were having a bit of...trouble. What kind of captain would I be, if I wasn't here to pull your ass out of the fire?" Jaq could only shake her head. Then her eyes caught the sight of what was left of Shard's ruined arm. All the bravado drained out of her face.

"Shard..."

She looked down again. Nope. Still gone. Well, it would have to do. "Well you know me. Always got to be prepared." She raised her other arm as much as she could. "Thankfully, I got a spare."

Jaq was about to smack her in the head for that last one, when she heard movement in the rubble behind them. The women instantly went back into battle mode, eyes sharp for the next enemy. Out of the bricks, a woman crawled. Alliance soldier from the looks of it. Dark hair, pulled back into a bun. Messy, with dirt and dried blood covering her face. She had a pistol trained on them as she tried to whisper out orders.

"Don't you move a single inch. You're both coming with me. You'll answer for what you did here."

In a flash, faster than Shard thought Jaq could handle right now, she had her pistol out and pointed towards the woman in blue armor. "You must have shit for brains, trying to fight two bad ass bitches who just turned a maw into fertilizer. Put it down now, and we might just forgive you."

"Not a chance bastards. I just lost my entire squad on this rock, and you're the only others I've found. So you'll be coming with me to answer some questions."

Shard grunted as she leaned into a sitting position. She put some of her weight onto Jaq's shoulder, bracing herself as best she could. She could feel the other woman push back into her, lending her strength.

"Who are you woman?"

The soldier's fingers rubbed against the trigger. "Private Ashley Williams. Systems Alliance marines. And you two don't look like colonists so I have to figure, you got something to do with this mess."

"Alliance. Your intel is shit. We're here doing a job."

"My friend speaks truly. My name is Urdnot Shard. She is Urdnot Jaq. We are part of Maw Company. We were hired by a representative of Outlandus Incorporated to find out what happened to their colony. We are here for the same reason you are. Ashley Williams, look at us. We have dealt with the same hardships as you. We are more than willing to bring you with us and return you to your people. But if you continue to threaten us, we'll be forced to defend ourselves."

"That means a bullet through that pretty little head of yours hot stuff. So lower the piece."

Ashley gave them both a contemptible look. "Uh, no offense ladies, but you two don't look like you're up for it. So like it or not, you'll be coming with me as soon as I get a ship down to pic..." She was cut off when she saw the maw she thought was dead lurch itself up again. It let out a screech and looked ready to strike down and crush all three of them. Jaq grabbed hold of Shard's hand, flicking her thumb down into the trigger of the detonator she still gripped. Explosions tore through the flesh and bone of the maw's neck. The last one tore it off from the rest of its body, which flopped down not too far from the marine, internal juices spilling onto the ground. Ashley's mouth gaped from the sudden destruction, her arm now pointing away from the others.

Jaq was more than ready to offer another acidic comment to the Alliance bitch. She was interrupted when a loud burrowing noise moved towards them, getting louder by the second.

"Oh you have to be fucking kidding me!" It was all the announcement they got, when two more maws, smaller than the first, erupted out of the ground, around the body of the larger one.

"Wonderful, it's a nest." Shard could see one of the maws pressing its head against what was left of the one she had just killed. When they looked down at the women, Shard could recognize the look she saw in their eyes.

* * *

Koto had only just made it back to the ship when Tali started shouting back at him.

"Keelah, where are the others? I thought they were with you? Their suits' monitors show their readings have nearly peaked. We have to get back to them." Tali was about to shove her way past the large male when he gripped her by her elbow to stop her. She reeled around, slamming her fist into his jaw. To her credit, he felt it.

"They're fighting maws. You won't be able to do much. Let's get the ship into the air. I'm going down to the battery. It's the best chance we have of getting them back." Tali pushed his arm off of hers. She started towards the cockpit before looking back over her shoulder.

"So..sorry about hitting you."

"Heh-heh, we'll make a krogan out of you yet girl." Koto rushed to get to the ship's guns. He needed to be ready so he could save his clanmates. Tali moved into the pilot's seat.

"Glad Shard insisted we all learn how to fly this thing. Hope my lessons stuck." Tali tried to move as fast as she could, memories of what to push hitting seconds before she needed to. It all felt like a mad scramble but she was able to get the ship into the air and moving. She locked on the suits' signals and headed over as fast as she could. Before she saw her captain and Jaq though, she saw two towering maws. A third one was on the ground, in pieces.

"I got them. Koto I found them," Tali screamed into her omni-tool. "They got two maws about to eat them. Shoot them now!"

Koto didn't have to be told a second time. He locked onto the targets the moment they came within range. The guns of the ship released several batteries, sending super-heated metal and ballistic rockets out. Tali saw them hit, and she was grateful she didn't have to hear the noise they must have been making as the maws were torn apart. Amid the smoke and blood and fire, she brought the ship down, near the signal and lowered the hatch. When she saw the signals were inside, she closed it, and got them out of the atmosphere. It was only then she realized she was holding her breath.

* * *

When the bullets started flying and the maws started screaming, Ashley sent herself crashing into cover. She was now hugging the ground, right next to the women she had been pointing a gun at. Whoever they were, they were better than those God forsaken monsters that ate the rest of her squad. It was a short fight. When it was over, there was less left of the creatures than there had been of the first one. Nearby, a ship landed, its hatch coming down. It may as well have rolled out the welcome mat.

"Help me pick her up bitch or get the fuck out of the way." There was more desperation in the shorter merc's voice now than before. She lifted the other one as much as she could, and Ashley only just noticed how tall she was. Her feet were still dragging along the ground. Without much thought, she rushed over to the other side, and used the last of her strength to help get them to the ship safely. When they were inside, the hatch closed and she could feel them pulling away from this nightmare.

After a few more minutes, a door on the other side of the room opened revealing a strange sight to Ashley. A krogan and a quarian. The girl ran over to the side of the other two, a medical kit in her hands.

"Shard don't worry we'll get you taken care of...Keelah!" She knelt down and her hands hovered in worry over the stump that was now scabbed over. Tali was frantic, hoping one of her crewmates knew what to do. Shard leaned over and reached into the kit, pulling out a stim. She lifted her chin and pumped the chemicals into her neck. Her eyes fluttered for a moment, and then finally she felt some of her energy return.

"Don't worry Tali. We made it. Our enemies lie broken and in the dirt. Thanks to Jaq." She smiled over at Jaq who was now kneeling on her other side, "Koto," she gave a brief nod to the male who had not taken his eyes off Ashley, his hand resting on his sidearm, "and you."

"But what did I do? You did all the work."

"You pulled our asses out of the fire Suit. Come on, when are you going to grow a quad girly? You're Maw Company. You gotta start acting like it." Tali looked back down into Shard's eyes after Jaq's reprimand/praise. Her captain nodded and then pulled herself to her feet. Tali stood with her. She could see the damage to her suit now, how it bit into her flesh in some spots. They would have to take care of that, and what she knew of the woman's healing ability, it would be a painful procedure. But she could handle it. That woman could handle anything the universe threw at her. Tali did what she could and put her body underneath Shard's good arm, helping her support herself.

Shard reached up and unsealed her helmet. Her face was sweaty, bloody and tired. But the look of gratitude she gave her quarian could have made a geth quiver. Then the steel returned to her face. She looked over to the soldier that helped them into the ship. Without breaking her gaze she gave her orders to her crew.

"Koto. I want you to make sure Ashley here gets back to her people safely. As long as no one tries to shoot you, get back here as soon as you can. You're free to defend yourself. Do not forget that Ashley Williams." The soldier's scowl deepened at the threat but she made no arguments. "Jaq, I want you to fly us closer to the Alliance vessel and send them a message about what we found and who we are sending back. Don't leave anything out, but keep a local copy for me. Tali," Shard let out a breath, putting a little bit more weight onto her friend's shoulders, grateful for the help, "please take me to the med bay. I need some help fixing myself up."

Tali was more than ready to help. "Yes captain."


	18. Chapter 18 - Relief

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

Ashley Williams didn't know whether she should consider herself lucky or not. On the one hand, she managed to survive the hell down below. But now, she was standing in a small room with a dangerous looking alien on a ship run by a human that thought she was an alien. To top it all off, was the data that she got from Koto about what had happened on Akuze.

"It's all there human. Don't know why the captain wants you to have it. Krogan aren't much for lying, a sign of weakness. But even though, we're not usually known for playing nice with others either."

"Good thing your captain is human then, krogan."

"Watch your mouth." Koto gave her a shrug and pulled out his knife to sharpen the blade to kill the time until the Alliance finished its docking procedure with the Surtesh. "Shard's not human. After what your people did to her? I'm not a philosopher, but well there just is so much metal you can shove into a person until they become something else."

Ashley eyed the male with suspicion, but also interest. "What are you talking about?"

"What, you mean you haven't heard of her? Must not have seen that video a couple of years back. Her and Jaq? They were experiments of your government until Urdnot Wrex set them free. Raised them like they were his own. They just passed their Rites and joined the clan."

"Wait, back it up for a second big top. Where do you get off accusing the Alliance of experimenting on little girls? We treat our people better than that. You must be thinking of your people. You know, the ones that blew yourselves up, and when other folks came around to help you out you rebelled and had to be put down."

Koto's eyes flicked back towards the human woman. He pointed his knife at her, "Careful female. You throw that kind of talk around on this ship, you'll find yourself taking the express exit. Out the airlock. With a grenade."

Ashley's back straightened, her pride showing on her face. "I'd love to see you try. You might even be able to get me in there. But I'd make sure it was the last thing you do."

Koto laughed, actual amusement in his voice. "Well, can't say you don't have guts. Figures. You humans may be barbarians, but at least you're tough. Make for good enemies. And allies." Koto's eyes move to Jaq as she enters the room. "How's it coming Jaq? We almost done?"

Jaq punches Koto in his stomachs as she passes him, using her good hand mixed with enough biotics so he'll feel it. He laughs while wincing at the same time. "Excuse me varren-piss. I just had to take a little visit to the ship's Doc. I'm not as fucked as Shard is so you should consider yourself lucky that I even got out of there to pilot the ship at all." She waves her cast hand in front of his face for emphasis. She's gotten several stitches over her body, and a few staples, but the machine does quick work. The upgrades Tali and Shard have made to it give it about the same level of skill as most field doctors they could have hired.

Ashley steps up. "You have a doctor on this bucket? It would have been nice to get a little treatment before you sent me on my way."

"Not that kind of doctor lady. Shard took to tinkering with the VI that was inside the med bay. She's given it a lot of upgrades, along with Tali. Boring ass shit if you ask me. I can't stay with them for five minutes when they get in workshop mode. Besides, you heard the boss. We're handing you over with the data we found and that's it. Besides, you look like a tough girl. I'm sure you can handle it."

"About that data...I still don't believe you. It can't be true. Even if Cerberus is real, there is no proof they're in league with the Alliance government. And even if they were, giving it to me just means they're going to find out. It won't do you any good."

Jaq just shrugs when Koto walks forward. The Alliance ship finished docking and the handoff would happen once they got through the pressurizer. "Look human. We know what Cerberus is. And if Jaq and Shard are any example, then your people can't be all bad. We don't care what you do with it, but one day these women are going to have their revenge. And they'll need all the help they can get. Groups like this, the cowards love to work with secrets. So the more who know about it the better." Koto gives the smaller woman a hard look. "You must have fought like hell to survive in a nest of thresher maws. I can only hope that means you have the honor our captain believes you do."

The door opened revealing three armed marines. They had their guns at their side but were ready to bring them up at a moment's notice. The one in the front stepped forward. "Private Williams, are you safe?"

Ashley straightened. "Yes sir. I'm ready to return to the ship and make my report."

The man looked around, "No one else soldier?"

Ashley let out a breath but didn't let the things she was feeling show through her face. "Just me sir. These...mercenaries helped me get off planet, and gave me evidence about what they found on Akuze. About what happened to the colony."

The man seemed to be mulling something over. Koto could almost see his thoughts in the way his trigger finger moved slightly. A heavy second passed before he motioned Williams over. "You have my thanks Mr..."

"Don't thank me. It was Urdnot Shard and Maw Company you have to thank. Now, get off our ship. We have places to be." There wasn't room left to debate the demand. The marines backed out, Ashley giving an almost invisible nod to Jaq and Koto before the hatch sealed back in place.

"Well, that was fun. Now can we please have a drink? I'm so fucking done today."

"Heh-heh, why not. But don't go crying to the boss when I drink you under the table. Again."

"Oh don't worry tall stuff, I'm warmed up this time. Nothing like a near death experience to make a person appreciate life." This time when Jaq passed Koto, she gave his tale a smack, grinning over her shoulder as she moved out of the room.

"These females are going to be the death of me."

* * *

For once, Shard was happy to be out of her armor. Years of training made it feel like a second skin. But right now she only wanted to get a little relief. She was currently in the med bay of her ship, while the arms of the VI were finishing sealing her skin back up. She had to be cut back open to remove the parts of her suit that melted into her after the acid from the maw. She learned that her regeneration wasn't always such a great thing early in her life. Not at the speed that it was currently at. She looked down at her body. Sitting on top the medical table, she could see a few more scars added to the collection. She had been able to deal with the pain of the procedure. She was more annoyed about how the new scars interrupted the patterns in her markings. That, and the nub where her arm had used to be. It itched and when she wasn't looking she could swear it was still there.

Tali finished putting away the supplies they used to patch up her captain. "Shard...are you alright?"

"I just don't get it. Things always grow back on me." She looked back towards her friend, "I don't like having questions where there should be answers."

"I wish I could tell you more captain. But I don't think anyone knows a lot about the tech that is inside of you. I can only guess based on what I've seen. Tell me, have you ever lost a body part before?

Shard was quiet, trying to recall all her injuries. Tali could see the question had brought her to a dark place. She walked next to the exam table Shard sat on, putting a three fingered hand on her friend's back. She pulled it back instantly, not knowing if was appropriate. Tali still was trying to get used to the idea of Shard being in front of her naked. Shard had no shame. Apparently, no krogans did. When they weren't in their armor, they were either in ceremonial robes or nothing at all. That's what Shard explained to her several times. Usually, Tali would have given the woman her privacy.

 _'Why are you so worried? You know what you two have been through before. What this warrior has done to you before. She has never shown you anything but kindness and bravery. Keelah get over yourself and be there for her. Help her._ '

Tali shook her head free of doubts and put her hand back on Shard's back. "I am sorry captain. I do not mean to make you revisit the pains of your past. But it's the only way I can think to help you right now." Shard smiled again at this, and pulled Tali's hand into her own.

"You're a good person Tali. Never let anyone make you think differently. Ok..." Shard sighed. "I've been hurt pretty bad before but...if we're actually talking about bone and meat being completely separated from the rest of my body, then no. I think this is the first time."

"Hmm, well then maybe that's it. Krogan aren't known for regrowing parts to that extent either. Maybe it's a safety measure? I mean, what would happen if you grew a new arm...and the arm that was torn off regrew a new you? What would we do with two Captain Shard's walking around? The universe can barely handle one of you."

"Well, I guess that makes sense. As much as I can hope for anyway. I doubt I'll be getting an instruction manual for everything I can do anytime soon. Thanks Tali. For everything." Shard got up and pulled the smaller woman into a hug. Tali gasped at the sudden pressure against her back and chest. She could feel the warmth from Shard's body through her suits sensors. Before she could scramble away, Shard was already moving out of the med bay into her sleeping area. Tali collected herself and followed.

"What are we doing next captain?"

Shard pulled out replacement pieces for her armor and slipped into another undersuit she created. "I'd like to take a small break if you don't mind. I need to get some things. I was thinking of Illium. They have some markets I've always wanted to give a try. And on our way, I can report in with our bounty to get our pay. And fix up my armor." She looked back at Tali standing in her doorway. "I was thinking. Maybe when we're at Illium we can all go out as a group. Have some fun. What do you think?

"I think that sounds lovely captain. I'll let the others know and get us moving." Tali moved away from the room and back towards the cockpit. She opened up her Omni-tool to send the captain's message to the other crew members. She punched in the coordinates for Illium, but she couldn't completely focus on her task. Her mind kept coming back to the captain. She knew how Shard felt about showing no weakness, but losing her arm had to be bothering her. How could it not? But what could Tali do...

An idea struck her suddenly. Illium, they were going to Illium. If there was a place to find something to help Shard get a new arm it would have to be there. Quarians usually avoided the place. It wasn't unheard for a quarian to be lost there and to never return from their pilgrimage. The place could enslave you through contracts and corporate laws the same way a pirate could. But, there wasn't a better place to find the latest technology, if you knew what you were looking for. And Tali did.

Not many knew about it, just assuming Quarians' suits to be like most other species'. But there was more under there than just external protection. Cybernetic implants were common in the fleet when resources could be found. Tali had always been thought of as a prodigy, picking up tech skills easily where others had to study for years. This included an understanding of cybernetics. She even had a few of her own. Just a few to help regulate her immune system and let her interact with her suit's commands seamlessly. But she had also been curious about the way others used cybernetic enhancements and studied what else was out there. The others of the galaxy seemed to limit their ideas to replacing external parts. Not many looked into finer systems. Not except the humans Tali had to admit to herself. Shard and Jaq were proof of that. But where it had taken Quarians thousands of years of slow progress, the humans seemed interested in advancing at reckless speed.

Tali tried not to think about it too much. She knew it was selfish, but if things had not happened the way they did, she would never have met Shard. And Shard wouldn't be the woman she is today. When she thought about it too much, it always left her depressed. Taking a selfish satisfaction in what she had at the expense of the thousands who were killed in the process. Right now, she wanted to focus on her extranet search of Illium based merchants. She found what she was looking for quickly. It was basic, but had high reviews. Specifically about the many different ways it could be modded.

 _'I'll buy this arm for the captain and give it to her as a gift. She'll be so happy with me. And that'll make me happy.'_ She tried to stop herself from going down that line of thought, but it was the reason she was spending nearly the last of her credits. All she had to get were the correct measurements and if she put her order in soon, it should be ready to pick up before they leave the planet. Tali quickly made her way towards the med bay to get a better look at Shard's medical scans to get the information she'd need.

* * *

Shard finished her call with her bounty. Thankfully it seems like the last job sent the message out nice and clear not to try and wiggle your way out of paying Maw Company. Shard could only hope the corporation would take her evidence against Cerberus seriously. If nothing else, they would at least be upset about the loss of profits. Shard hated dealing with these types, but she figured it went along with the job she picked. She laid down on her bed, and her arm found its way back to the stump that was now left on her.

 _'What am I going to do? How can I be a proper warrior with just one arm?'_

She closed her eyes, actually feeling tears start to creep up on her. She could handle pain, physically. And usually emotionally. But the idea of failing her parents and returning to Tuchanka as less than the warrior that she had left it almost overwhelmed her.

"What's the matter princess? Can't sleep?"

Jaq moved into the room unannounced. Before Shard could greet her, she was already in the bed next to her, sitting with her legs crossed on her side. She reached out and put her hand on Shard's stump. Shard had cut away the sleeve of her undersuit. She would have to modify all of her armor.

"You alright Shard?" The jokes ended. Now looking down at Shard was the woman who had nearly died to avenge her, who had battled a thresher maw with everything she had. For Shard.

"I am now. I...I know I have to be strong and I will be. With you and Tali...I can't help but be strong. You are both always there for me. Holding me up."

"Yeah well," Jaq smiles again, poking a finger into Shard's chest, "You could do us a favor and lose a little weight. Your big ass is heavy boss. Come on, scoot over. And don't hog the blanket this time."

"Oh excuse me Jaq, how dare I use my blanket. You know you could always bring your own on these nightly visits of yours."

"Just shut up. And turn the light off."

"And here I thought I was the captain." Shard felt light again, and pulled the woman closer in the dark.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Bright Illium Lights

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

It took some time, but the Maw crew finally found a dock where the prices weren't too steep. She had already been warned by Tali that this planet was notorious for trying to get every last credit out of people. Especially offworlders. Shard was surprised to find out Koto never stepped foot here before. She told Jaq and Koto to find out the best place to get resupplied, and to pick up a few things she needed for her projects. She hoped they wouldn't run into any trouble. If they did, they were to let her know what was happening right away and get back to the ship if possible.

Right now, all she wanted was to get lost in the crowd. Not such an easy task for someone, especially a woman, as large as she was. But Tali was reluctant to let her go off on her own.

"Shard, I don't think I can emphasize enough how dangerous this place is."

Shard looked out at the rising skyscrapers, the impressive vista stretching as far as the horizon. This place was immaculate; she didn't see any dirt or trash anywhere. A far cry from Omega. "Doesn't look so bad to me. I doubt most people here have even been in a fight."

"Shard this is serious. One wrong move here and you could accidently sign your life away. Sometimes they don't even need a signature. Say the wrong thing to the wrong person and before you know it, you have to spend the next 5 years working without pay under penalty of jail. Please. Just be careful." Tali didn't like how little her captain was heeding her words.

With a wave to dismiss Tali, "Yeah yeah I got it Tali. I've taken out thresher maws. I'm pretty sure I can handle these soft things." She gave a look of disdain down at an asari as she was fed her own food by one of her servants in an outdoor café. "Look, I just need some time to myself. I'll stay out of trouble. So go have fun. Captain's orders alright?" Tired of standing still, Shard pushed herself through the crowd, disappearing around the corner.

 _'She's probably right,'_ Tali thought. ' _I'll need to be more careful than her if I want to get her fixed up.'_ She pulled up her clock on her omni-tool. She walked down to one of the rental cars to take it to the shop that she was buying the cybernetic arm from. She couldn't help but feel the excitement at what Shard would say when she saw the gift. So deep in thought, she didn't notice the pairs of eyes watching her before she pulled out.

"They're here. Urdnot Shard has separated from the rest. Grab her and bring her back to the office so we can begin."

* * *

Jaq and Koto were not enjoying themselves so far. Things were easier back home Jaq thought. You needed stuff, you got it if you proved yourself. Promises were made and kept, or else settled as they should be: with a fight. Now she was stuck here waiting until Koto could finish haggling down this salarian merchant to give them a reasonable supply on their ammo and fuel.

"Can we hurry this up pyjak? I didn't plan to spend my whole day arguing with your ass."

The salarian's head rapidly flicked towards her. "Necessary. You ask for too little. If you want to buy from this stall, you pay our prices. No exceptions."

Koto growled out his frustration. "This is thresher shit salarian. I know how much I could get these for, even out in some of the busted down stations you got floating in this system alone. Now give me a fair price, or you'll be picking your teeth off the floor."

"Violence. Typical. Your threats won't make a difference. Even if you killed me, the prices would not adjust. They are set by the company. So either pay or leave. You're scaring away my other respectable customers."

"For fuck's sake Koto, just give it up. This asshole isn't worth it." Koto mumbled out some of the more colorful curses he could think of, but he did finally pay.

"It better be delivered to our ship before we leave or I'm coming back to find you. And then maybe I won't be so hungry anymore." Jaq rolled her eyes and took Koto by the crook of his arm, dragging him away from the salarian who already moved onto the next customer.

"Let it go big guy and get a drink with me. We can get a head start on Tali and Shard before they meet up with us later. Or maybe grab something to eat? For a second I thought you might actually be hungry enough to take a bite out of that guy."

"I hate salarian. Too salty. Heh-heh-heh." As the pair moved down towards a restaurant, Koto noticed Jaq had not taken her arm out of the crook of his own. ' _Still got it._ '

* * *

Shard kept making her way lower into the city they landed in. She figured it would get more interesting the lower she went. You only found the good stuff after digging around a bit. She hoped Tali hadn't gotten the wrong idea. She didn't want to get away from her friend, and she wasn't depressed or anything. Not over something as little as an arm. Once she had a better understanding of why her body reacted the way it had, she was able to compartmentalize her feelings. It was what it was. She just wanted to be alone to get a better idea of this place. In a group, you were safer but you were also less exposed. Sometimes, Shard liked to be exposed, to see what came out for the hunt. She found the idea thrilling. She could see her presence was getting the attention of several people already.

A few longing looks from asari, some threatening looks from a couple of batarians, suspicion from turians and salarians. She figured those probably knew who she was. She didn't really try to keep her identity a secret, with her extranet videos. And if she was being honest with herself, she liked the idea of being a bit infamous on the extranet. Childish she knew as well but she didn't have to lie to anyone. Especially not herself.

Shard was about to take another elevator down when she got a ping on her omni-tool. It was from Tali. She opened up the chat program. "Hey Tali what's up? Find anything fun to spend your money on?"

"Well actually, yes. It's why I was calling you." Tali's face scooted closer to the screen. "Wait, where are you? It seems darker. You didn't go drinking without us did you?"

"What, and deprive myself the view of you drunk? Never. You know how cute you are when you've had a few."

"I am..I'm quite sure I don't know what you're talking about Shard."

"Of course you don't," Shard couldn't help but smile. "So what did you get? I hope it was something unnecessary and expensive. Those are the best kinds of things to buy yourself."

"Not quite. Um…captain, I'd like to come see you. Can you send me your coordinates? It's something I'd like to show you…in person."

Shard's eyebrows shot up, a devilish look sparkling in her eyes. "Well now I'm curious. I can't wait to find out more. Should I book us a clean room?"

Tali seemed to frantically lower the volume of her omni on her end. "No no no no, it's not like that captain! Just…why do you have to be so difficult? Just, give me your coordinates before I bring it back and you don't get to find out anything."

"I love seeing you like this. I just can't help myself. Captain's prerogative. Alright, I sent you my coordinates. I set them to follow me, because I don't know if you could handle meeting in the middle of an elevator with me right now. I know all about you and your roaming hands."

"Bosh'tet. I let you get away with too much…I mean…um sorry captain." Tali couldn't believe she had just cursed her captain, or spoken with her so familiarly. In the flotilla, she could have been severely punished.

"Tali, it's no problem. I like when you talk to me like that. I'm not really a captain anyway." Shard's voice took a lower tone, softer and more sincere. "You never have to be sorry for talking to me like that. I'll see you so…Ah! What the hell?"

"Shard?"

"Sorry just…what the?" Shard reached behind her neck pulling out something sharp that had just stung her. A dart. With something coating the needle. She didn't waste any time, already looking around for her attacker as she spoke with Tali. "Tali, I was just struck by a dart. So it's either poison or a chemical meant to knock me out. I don't know which. Someone is attacking me. Which means they might be after you and the crew, warn them and be..be…" Shard felt her eyes start to close slightly. She felt as if weights were suddenly tied to them. Her brain tried to analyze as fast as she could. Sluggish muscles, heavy eyes, brain becoming foggy, no nausea or bleeding. Not poison…anesthetic. She couldn't go any more and crashed against the elevator panel.

* * *

Tali was driving now, her omni-tool still open. She could hear people talking in the background now.

"Shard, answer me, what is happening? Are you alright?" She didn't want to say too much. Shard had thought fast enough to give her a warning. Someone was after the captain. Someone could be after all of them for all she knew. She already patched in Koto and Jaq into the chat program, sending them messages about what happened. They were on their way to meet up with Tali. She had sent them the coordinates to Shard's omni, as well as her own so they wouldn't lose each other.

Suddenly Shard's video feed shut off. Last thing Tali could see was a hand reaching down. ' _Damn, the bastards turned it off. But did they just shut down the program or the entire device?'_ Thankfully, they had not thought that deeply. The coordinates for Shard were still coming through. But now they were moving. Quickly. ' _Must have gotten her into a car. But where are they going. I hope they don't plan to take her off world. The ship is too far away to get back to quickly. Wait.'_ She spoke out a message to be sent to Koto and Jaq.

'K&J: Get back to the ship. Whoever has Shard is moving her. I am still closing in, but if they are taking her to a ship, we will need to get off planet to follow them. If you are already waiting in the ship, you will not have to wait for me to meet back up with you. I will continue my chase, and get the captain back if I can. I'll let you know if I find out anything else. Keelah se'lai'

A few moments later Tali got her response.

'Got it Suit. Fuck em up.'

* * *

Shard felt groggy and could tell she had been dragged into a car. It must have been in the back seat because she could hear two males talking.

"Tell the boss we got her…no problems…yeah, out cold. Is the surgery prepped?...Good, we'll have her there in a few minutes. Tell the buyer they can expect the data and any parts we can extract intact in no less than 2 weeks…and have security prepped as well just in case…yeah I've seen the videos too. I'm not taking any chances with this freak."

Surgery. Buyer. Parts. That was what this was about. Shard tried to will herself to move but her body wasn't up for it yet. Thinking again she decided to save her energy. Taking out two enemies while in mid-flight would be a bad idea. And when they got where they were going, she could expect to find more forces apparently. Several long minutes later she decided to tempt fate and open her eyes. Her weapons were on the floorboard near her. She couldn't quite get them yet. But she had to think of something.

* * *

At the base of a large corporate tower, 10 armed guards waited for the arrival of the package. The head of security even came down here for this one. Next to them a science team was waiting with a gurney. They had been told the package would need to be rushed to surgery. A car came down into the dock, its driver opening the door and getting out, along with another man in the passenger seat. They walked forward to talk to security.

"She in there?"

"Yeah, knocked out still. If we keep this moving, we won't have any problems. Don't underestimate that one. The buyer sent us some vids showing what she is capable of, so no screwing around. Now if you don't mind, we need to get started." The one in charge turned his head towards the doctors. "What are you waiting for? Get her out and get her open."

Without hesitation, the doctors moved forward towards the car, ready to give the package another dose to make sure she didn't fight them on their way to surgery. But they stopped when they approached the car.

"It's empty!"

The guards pulled their weapons up getting in a defensive position as the leader pounded his way to the car.

"Get the hell out of my way!" He couldn't believe it. She was in there moments earlier. And no one saw her exit. He looked around more frantically. His boss wasn't known for tolerating failure, especially amongst her executives. Then he noticed something else. Or, the lack of something else. He turned and shouted out back to the head of security. "Her weapons are gone, she's armed! Get back insi…"

He didn't get to finish the sentence. A loud gunshot echoed off the walls and his head was disconnected from his body. The unseen shooter had aimed for the throat. The scientists screamed as they were covered in blood and other bodily fluids. One of them had been standing too close and the bullet hit her in the chest. She wasn't moving on the floor. The head of security heard the telltale sounds of heat sinks being expelled as shots continued to ring out in quick succession. Already half of his forces were gone by the time they got through the front doors into cover.

"Get on the phone, call the local police. Feed them a story about being under attack. This mission is scrubbed!" But the moment one of his people went to get up, the top of his head was punctured, splashing warm blood and bits of skull onto the other guards' armor. No one moved after that. They hadn't even seen the shooter yet, but he knew who it was. ' _That moron, he didn't think to deactivate her cloak tech._ '

But after a few moments of silence, he grew bolder. He turned to the rest of his forces, ordering them out there to find her. At the very least while she was distracted he could call in reinforcements from the police. He knew several who were on the payroll and could help out.

* * *

Shard was lying down on the ground in the shadows where she had crawled herself to. Her sniper rifle was propped up in front of her, braced on the stand in its front. She was glad she attached that before she found herself with only one arm. She stayed hidden and took out a lot of the enemy forces but now she found herself in a bit of trouble. She was running low on thermal clips and she was still outnumbered. She shipped her rifle as she saw three of the guards come back out of the building. They must have figured it was safe to look for her now. Her legs were still groggy but if she fought smart she might be able to take them.

She reactivated her cloak, and took her time standing back up. She had to brace herself with her shoulder against the wall until she found her legs again. The guards were getting closer, determining her location from the angle of the bodies littering the small dock. They were still several stories up, and she was close to the edge. She backed up as much as she could, her heels hanging over on the precipice.

"She was here, had to be. It's covered in spent clips." The guards slowly creeped into her old position as Shard edged her way around them.

' _Just a little bit more you bastards.'_ When she finally got between them and the edge of the platform she pulled her arm back, building biotic energy into her fist. Her cloak fizzled out when she started her attack.

"Fire, fire now!" Three assault rifles opened up on her. Her shields protected her long enough to send out a wave that was strong enough to force the guards over. She didn't hear their screams for long. They were still high enough to where it would take at least a minute before they hit bottom.

Normally the display wouldn't take so much out of her, but her body was busy still breaking down the chemicals in her blood. But she didn't have any time to rest. Before she could turn around she felt something hard come down on her head. She felt blood wetting the back of her neck when she collapsed. The last guard, the one she had seen shouting orders was standing over her. A pistol in one hand pointed towards her face, a baton in the other.

"I wonder. Maybe we can still get those cybernetics out of you without you being alive." His finger tightened on the trigger but Shard wouldn't give him the satisfaction of fear. But before he could pull it, they both heard the roar of an engine.

"What the-" was all he was able to get out before a car slammed into his chest at nearly full speed. The force was enough to send him sliding over the edge of the platform as well, joining his troops. Shard saw the car continue onwards before making a sharp turn and landing next to her. When its passenger door opened, she saw it was piloted by a friendly quarian.

"That's the last time I let you go walking around by yourself on a dangerous planet, now get in quick before more show up."

Shard pulled herself up before falling into the seat next to Tali. She smiled and leaned over, giving the hooded woman a kiss right on the middle of her faceplate. "You keep this up, I might just have to keep you around."

Tali chuckled as she pulled off the dock and back towards their ship. "Please captain. You could never get rid of me." Tali pulled her omni-tool up. "Thank goodness they didn't deactivate yours. I doubt I'd be able to get the local police to help me find you in time. Jaq, Koto are you there?"

"Yeah we're here, did you find Shard?"

"I'm here Jaq. A couple of bastards wanted to cut me open and pull my cybernetics out. I think someone wants to buy them. Don't know who. But the ones who tried to take me are dead now. And I'm safe. Thanks to my dashing savior." Shard winked over at Tali.

"Bosh'tet…"

Koto pushed himself into frame using Jaq's tool. "We won't be safe until we get out of here. They might be coming after you still. We're all packed and ready to go. So get your hump moving Shard."

"Get the fuck off of me, your breath is melting my god damn armor." The call cut off.

* * *

Tali pulled the car down into the dock near the Surtesh. Tali reached into the back seat, pulling out a long bundle before getting out. Shard thought that must be what she wanted to show her. They saw Jaq and Koto waiting by the lowered cargo hatch. But just as they were about to make their way into the ship, three other cars lowered around them in a circle. Sirens were blaring and Jaq could see armored figures inside of them.

"It's the fucking police."

"I don't care who it is, we're getting out of here and I doubt we'll be coming back. Get ready." Each member of Maw Company pulled out their guns, ready to fight their way to freedom. A voice sounded out over a speaker from the car as police started filing out, using their vehicles for cover, their weapons trained.

"Lower your weapons and put your hands in the air. You were seen fleeing a private corporation that was attacked. You can either come with us peacefully or you can die right now. The choice is yours."

Jaq smiled in anticipation next to Koto who returned it. Shard stood in front of Tali, trying to block her from any harm. The tension could be felt in the air.

"I said put your weapons down now, or we will open fire."

"We're not coming with you, for all we know you work for the same assholes who kidnapped me. I don't know how you do things on your planet, but from where I'm from, if someone tries to take you, then you can defend yourself."

"Get ready to open fire!"

Tali leaned closer, her shotgun trained on the one speaking into his omni-tool. "I don't think they're interested in the truth captain."

"Koto if one of those pyjaks opens fire, I want you to lay down suppression while me and Jaq send out a few pushes into the vehicles. We'll get away in the confusion and punch it for the nearest relay."

"Let's do this you shit eaters!" Jaq was almost bursting out of her skin, ready for battle.

"Wait! Stand down, stand down!"

The scream made the tense police officers almost pull their triggers. When they looked back to the source, the listened and put their weapons down.

"Captain? What are you doing here?" The man who had been speaking into his omni-tool turned towards a very pissed off turian. When he got close enough he smacked the human's hand down to his side.

"I should be asking you the same thing lieutenant. What the hell are you doing, taking private calls from private security firms, and why do I have a report on my omni that shows several questionable credit deposits to your account? You have a lot of questions to answer."

"But..but sir," the man tried to stammer, "there was an attack and two of these people were seen fleeing from the area. They were armed." His back straightened now. "We were following the correct protocol. We need to take them in."

The turian just shook his head. "I've seen the security feeds. They dragged that woman to their car and we have audio recordings that prove they were about to perform invasive surgery without the necessary contracts. We're done here. Now get back to the station and consider your report very carefully if you don't want to find yourself working dirtside."

Shard saw what was happened and ordered her people to lower their weapons. A few moments later the police cleared the area. And she even got a personal apology from the turian captain for her trouble. Jaq couldn't hold it in any more.

"Aw come on! You two got to kill someone. But me and Koto get left with our asses dangling in the breeze. Talk about fucking unfair." Jaq turns and flips off the police vehicles as they travel away from the dock in the distance. "Next time grow a quad you silly fucks."

Koto walked up to Shard. "Can we please leave now? I've had enough of this maw nest. We stay any longer, you'll probably find yourself without a leg too."

"Koto!" Tali pushes past Shard and punches the krogan in the throat hard enough to make him actually double over. "You should be more sensitive to the captain bosh'tet."

Shard roughly slapped Tali on the shoulder. "We'll make a krogan out of you yet Tali. But Koto's right. It's time to get out of here."

Before she could step on the ship she heard someone clear their throat and begin to speak in a voice that was too smooth and too low not to be practiced. "Pardon the intrusion Urdnot Shard, but I'd like to have a word with you. After that, I promise no one else will get in your way to leave. Not after all the hard work I put into it."

Maw Company looked at each other in confusion before Jaq spoke first. "And just who are you, you greasy cunt?"

The man bowed slightly, still smiling at the crew. "Allow me to introduce myself. Natano Seanoa at your service. Freelance reporter." Shard took the sight of the man in. He was tall, only a bit shorter than Koto and herself. But he wasn't lean or muscular like the rest of them. He was wide set. He had light brown skin, and she could see just the tip of a tattoo on his neck before it dipped into his stylish suit. Jaq wasn't wrong. His hair did look like it had been dipped in grease, the thick dark curls framing his heavy cheeks. But despite the extra weight and lack of muscles she thought he wore it well. It fit his frame. "It was my report that got the captain off of his ass and here to make sure you didn't take out any more of Illium's illustrious citizens."

Shard cut to the chase. "What do you want? Credits? Protection?"

The man scoffed at her, waving the idea away with his hand. "I assure you, it's nothing so droll. You see, I've been a fan of yours for some time. You caught my eye with your little video a few years back, and when you put out that most recent one, I saw you were finally making your way in the galaxy. It was through good fortune that we both found ourselves on Illium at the same time. No what I want, is for you to take me with you on your little…adventures."

Jaq gave him a confused and almost disgusted look. "Is this guy for real. Come on Shard, you can't be thinking of bringing him along. I doubt the fat ass can even fight."

"Urdnot Jaq, born in Earth more than 18 years ago, taken from her parents and sent to a secret government facility to be experimented on, along with your leader Urdnot Shard. You were rescued by Urdnot Wrex and taken back to Tuchanka, where you've spent most of your lives. From the looks of it, the culture rubbed off on you two, and you most likely think of yourselves as krogan as opposed to human. You recently left the planet and started up a mercenary business named Maw Company. Your most recent trip found you in Akuze where you stumbled upon more evidence of a group called Cerberus, and where Shard lost her arm."

Jaq was about to push the man into last week, glowing blue and her arm already pulled back before Shard reached over and pulled her into a one armed grip against her chest. Her feet were actually off the ground, but she still fought to get out, kicking wildly, spitting out as much grunts as actual curses. Shard waited until she calmed down enough to be heard.

"How do you know so much about us? Do you work for the people who did this to us?"

"Perish the thought madam. As I told you, I am an excellent reporter with great sources. Sources you may find of some use on your journeys. It's quite simple. I'm always looking for a great story. I've got a bit of a nose for it as well. And you and your friends look like you will be at the center of many interesting and profitable stories. So what do you say," he reached out his hand, "do we have a deal?" Shard looked down at Jaq sending a silent command not to hit the reporter when she set her down. When she reluctantly nodded she threw Shard's arm off of her and stomped away when the grip loosened enough. Shard turned back towards Natano and gripped him by his forearm.

"Life is more fun when you take chances. Just remember Natano. If you screw me, my crew or my people, you won't live long enough to report about it. It's my only rule and the only warning you'll get." She gave him a look that let him know how serious she was.

"Oh you have nothing to worry about from me I'm sure. I don't plan to do anything that will make it necessary for you to sink those very sharp looking teeth of yours into my neck. I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of having my stuff delivered into the ship already."

Maw Company turned as he walked past them and sure enough several bags were already waiting in the cargo hold. Jaq was about to lose another gasket. "How in the fuck! Alright buddy if you're coming with us, I gotta make sure you're on the up and up. You. Me. Drinks. Now!"

"Madam Jaq, please if you do not mind, I'm not what you would call a heavy drinker. I know there is no way I could match your fortitude."

"Yeah I don't know what you just said, but it sure sounds like bullshit to me. Koto, drag his ass to the bar." Koto nodded once and lifted the heavy human over his shoulder before disappearing deeper into the ship. Jaq kicked one of his bags over as she made her way through, speaking over her shoulder.

"I'll get us out of here bosslady, then you can find me and the drinks inside the kitchen." Shard just nodded when Tali tried to move past her with her bundle tucked against her chest.

"Wait Tali."

"Yes captain?"

"You're a brave woman. So, thanks again for saving me. For real." Shard pulled Tali into a deep hug, and Tali didn't move to stop it.

"It was nothing captain."

"It was something alright. So enough waiting, let's go to my room so you can show me that thing you were talking about. After all this building up, I hope it lives up to the hype." Shard's light laughter echoed down the hallway as Tali closed the hatch behind her.

In a whisper, "Me too Shard."


	20. Chapter 20 - Reporting from the Surtesh

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

"You ready for this? You can always back off."

"Perish the thought. Just don't go too hard. We wouldn't want you breaking anything too…delicate."

"Ohhh, tough talk. Let's say we put that mouth of yours to better use. On three."

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" Four hands slammed down on the table in the kitchen area of the ship, grabbing the rather large shot glasses, and pounding back the hard alcohol. Shard and Jaq howled at the feeling that burned so good. Koto just grunted. Natano's eyes watered slightly but he handled it well, uttering some words in another language the translators couldn't pick up.

"Oh my. Tuchanka certainly produces powerful spirits. Is this the famous Ryncol I've heard so much about?"

The Urdnots laughed unabashed in his face. Shard shook her head and looked over at Jaq. "This light stuff? Nah, this is something we made to test out you aliens with. It's called Syk. You'd need to be able to regenerate your stomachs like these two badasses to be able to handle Ryncol." Shard stands and takes an exaggerated bow. She didn't mean to sit for a drink. She had been on her way to Tali's room to see the surprise, but Jaq all but pushed her into the seat when Koto challenged the reporter to another drink.

"Well, it looks like you got everything under control here Jaq. I'm going to Tali's room."

Koto and Jaq smiled over at the quarian.

"Not bad female. Rutting with the captain is kind of a promotion for your people right?"

"You know me Suit, Shard's her own female. Just save some for me later." Jaq reaches over and smacks Shard on her ass. Shard's armor absorbs most of the blow, but she blushes regardless. She leans down and pulls Jaq's face into a hard kiss before shoving away her cheek.

"You can have some if you deserve it. But right now Tali's got a gift to show me. Come along Tali."

Tali shuffles behind Shard, her hands fidgeting. She was used to the women's bluntness by now, but it still made her a little nervous. She wasn't planning what Jaq was talking about. She really did have a gift to give Shard. She had moved ahead and left it on her bed when Shard stopped to get a drink. Tali heard more drinks being poured and more laughter as they left the kitchen area.

"I know I already displayed my vast knowledge about you and your people, but please indulge me. I'd love to get to know you two more. Correct me if I'm wrong Koto, but don't your people usually leave females back on Tuchanka?"

"The fertile ones. After the genophage, they became our most precious resource. If we lose them, we die out. Shard and Jaq can't bare krogan children. So here we are."

"Fascinating. Am I to believe that the fertile females are not allowed to leave? Are they slaves?"

"Fucking outsiders. Look it ain't like that hot pants. We just know what the score is, get it?" Jaq takes another shot, slamming her glass back down. "It was the female clan leaders' ideas. We've had to do a lot to survive over the years."

Koto takes another shot as well, "The salarians and turians like to act high and mighty. Like they are doing everyone a service by keeping down the evil krogans. Bullshit. If they were so good, they would have done something that didn't result in the death of millions of children over the years. But with Wrex and Bakara now, we have focus again. So don't question our ways. We've done what we had to." Koto looks into the bottom of his glass, when Jaq pats him on the hump.

"You seem alright Seanoa, but you gatta know why this would be a sore subject for us. We may be hard ass warriors," she pounds her fist against her chest, "but no one likes to deal with the reality of thousands of stillbirths every year."

For once, Natano felt at a loss for words. "Stillbirths? But I thought the genophage lowered krogan fertility rates."

"Shit. Is that what the cunts are telling everyone? Cowards can't even own up to what they did. No, that's not the truth at all. The truth is that every female can have as many children as they used to. But now, most of them die before they are born. But they are still born. Each and every one of them. Every female tries at least once to find out. I would have, if I wasn't born human. Same for Shard."

A light returned to Natano's eyes as his curiosity got the better of him again. "Hmmm, you say not Shard. But she is indeed a hybrid is she not? I mean on a biological level, she has many krogan parts within her. Can she not bare a krogan child? Or something else entirely?"

Jaq leaned back as if she never even considered the question. "I…uh…shit I don't know." She looked over at Koto who seemed as if every gear in his brain was turning all at once. But he just took another shot before getting up and leaving without a word.

Jaq smacked the reporter on the back of his head.

"Ah! What on earth was that for?"

"Your big mouth. You had to go an ruin the mood. You talk too much. Fucking reporters."

* * *

Koto found himself wandering the corridors of the ship. He was trying to sort his thoughts after the question the human posed. It was too much to get through so instead he tried to focus on the next mission.

Shard mentioned she had a job set up already for them. She found a request on the extranet to scout out a newly discovered planet. Apparently it had been found by a private party and they wanted to know if there were any dangerous indigenous lifeforms. He grunted. If their luck kept up, they'd probably find something fun to kill. Seemed to be Shard's style.

Shard. He grunted again, running his hand across his face. What was making him feel this way? He had known many powerful females before. But she was different. He planned to try and gage her interest in him for a quick fuck every now and then the next time they went out drinking. But those assholes on Illium derailed those plans.

But this was different. Could she bare children? She killed krogans, humans, and thresher maws. Some of them with only one arm. She would make mighty krogans. If she was fertile. But that would mean a breeding request. And she would either accept or deny it. And those could only be made on Tuchanka. If she even agreed.

'Oh for fuck's sake. I sound like a hump fucking tak! You are Urdnot Koto. You killed a pack of varren with just your hands in your Rite and feasted on their meat. You've made requests before, this is no different.'

But, another voice whispered in the back of his head. He had never sired any children. He had seen the pain in the eyes of the females when they found out they were not immune. It had hardened his heart. Would he put Shard through that as well? Could he? With a grunt he ripped his knife out of its sheath and moved his way down to the cargo hold to release some tension, sharpening his blade as he stomped through the halls.

* * *

"Alright Tali, show me this amazing gift of yours." Shard leaned her shoulder against the door frame. Without an arm there, she had to shift more weight into her legs to keep her balance. It was still taking some time to get used to.

Tali sat on her bed and moved the wrapped gift onto her lap. "You've paid me quite a bit so far, so I had plenty to spend. And I wanted to get something for you…" She slowly unwraps the cloth around the cybernetic arm. Shard's eyes focused when she understood the thing Tali bought was for her. When the cloth fell away, she could finally see what it was.

The arm was completely black chrome. If she had to guess, it was the exact same shape and size as her old arm. Tali must have used some of her medical scans to get the measurements. The frame contained patches of what look like a metallic mesh. Grey in color, their shape and position let Shard know they acted as the muscle in place of the bicep and tricep as well as along the forearm. The hand was skeletal in design, but it looked as if it had more flexibility than the original. Tali reached into one of her suit's many pockets and pulled out something that looked like an attachment.

"I picked it out I hope you like it I wanted to get you something you liked and something you could fix if you didn't like it because I know how much you like to tinker and we can attach it to your arm after a small procedure that we can program into the med bay VI we can do it right now if you want or I can return it for you if it's not something you like I don't mind you can tell me and oh bosh'tet I'm rambling now again…"

Tali was moving a mile a minute. Shard wasn't listening to her right away, she was still taken aback by the enormity of the gift. She knew it must have cost Tali everything she had to her name. And she wouldn't dishonor this gift of the heart. She kneeled down, pulling Tali into a fierce hug. Tali's voice was silenced instantly. When Shard buried her face into Tali's neck, her suit's nerve-stimulator kicked in, activating when someone touched her in an erogenous zone. She pushed into the heat and pressure, her own arms coming up around Shard's neck. And then to Tali's amazement she saw Shard kneel lower, pressing her forehead to the ground, not quite understanding what the woman was about to do.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, by Great Mother Tuchanka, this one, Urdnot Shard, swears to do you honor for the rest of your days. From now until all the stars burn out of the sky. For the gift you have bestowed upon me, you will never find yourself without a friend. This I promise." Shard looks back up into Tali's facemask, her silver orbs dancing, burning a hole deep into the krogan's soul. Three metal fingers rub against Shard's neck and face, pulling her closer.

Their foreheads press together, and Shard clutches her new arm to her chest. "Tali, you have made me whole once again. I shall never be able to repay the honor you have done onto me today." She plants a kiss on the facemask, wishing more than anything at this moment, that should could see the other woman's face.

Tali felt the same way and was trying to find the words. To let Shard know just how much she means to her. Both her and Jaq. Her people were known to crack down on lesbian relationships. The admirals would call it a waste in their precarious civilization, every woman needing to do their part for the fleet. Tali didn't care right now. These woman had swept her up in their strength and passion ever since she met them. The least she could do was repay them whenever she could. But she couldn't find a way to put her blurred thoughts to words, so she decided to move to more practical terms.

"If it's alright with you captain, I can help you get the arm installed in the med bay. I've already sent the installation procedure to the VI."

"That sounds great Tali. Let's go." She clutched the arm to her chest, and felt Tali's arm around her waist as they walked out the room.

* * *

Shard's eyes slowly opened when the short term anesthesia wore off. Already she could feel something was different. She looked down at her naked chest. Her new arm looked as if it was screwed into her shoulder where her old one had been torn off. The procedure removed the small nub that was left from her arm and implanted a socket into her torso at her shoulder. She could see bruises dancing around the new metal on her body, her tattoos stopping abruptly on her new appendage. She could fix that later, a new paint job and Tali said she could even mod it.

Tali's face came into view above her, and she helped Shard into a sitting position. "Everything went perfect captain. Thanks to the implants in your mind and body, you should be able to use it effortlessly the same way you use any of your body parts."

Without even realizing it, Shard was already moving her new robotic limb. She looked down as she flexed her hand. She began to rotate it a bit, and was surprised when she felt no strain like she used to. Indeed, she could rotate her wrist without stopping. Her fingers too were not hindered by her past limitations. She smiled up at Tali.

"Well, now I never have to worry about something being too big to hold in my hand." Tali laughed as well, relieved to see Shard in such a good mood. They laughed so much, they didn't notice that Jaq joined them.

"So how did it go Suit? You feelin' alright Red?"

"Jaq can you believe it? I'm whole again. Tali made me whole again." The emotions rose again in Shard and she stood to her full height, pulling Tali into a deep hug, lifting her feet off the ground. "You have definitely earned the Swearing."

"Wait what?" Jaq's question pulled Shard back and she set Tali down. "You performed The Swearing?" Shock danced on Jaq's face. Shard looked to shrink a little as if she were a small tak caught stealing. Tali gathered herself, looking between the two women, her own curious features hidden behind her mask.

"I do not understand. Shard just promised to be my friend forever for getting her this gift. Is this a big deal?"

"Is it a big deal? Yes it's a big fucking deal Tali. It's the biggest fucking deal! By krogan law, she's basically pulled you into our family. Your problems are her problems and anyone sworn to her. I mean just…holy shit Shard." To Shard's great relief, Jaq's tone never entered disappointed territory. Just shocked.

"Jaq…I had to. She used everything to her name, even when she's trying to find a gift for her people on her Pilgrimage, just so I could be whole again. It was the only thing I could do that could come close." Tali's hand fidgeted in front of her. She did not want to cause any tension between her friends and hoped that this wouldn't come between them.

Jaq was quiet for a moment. Longer than she usually was. Tali's eyes widened when she saw Jaq pull out a knife from behind her back, holding the blade in one hand as she stared into Shard's eyes. Tali looked up and saw the taller woman was not worried, but was watching intently all the same. Suddenly Jaq ripped the blade across her hand and then presented the handle to Shard.

"Better hurry up, you big elcor. You heal faster than most." Shard gave a curt nod in response, pulling the blade across her organic hand and reached over grabbing Jaq's hand. Jaq didn't take her eyes off of Shard's while she started talking as if she were trying to remember something she learned about long ago.

"Upon…Great Mother Tuchanka…I, Urdnot Jaq…um…so swear to be by your side until…until the stars burn out of the sky. You, and everyone you swear by. This I promise." Shard smiled and shook Jaq's hand and looked like she was about to talk. Jaq stopped her by pulling her head down into a strong kiss, their lips crashing together. Tali could see Jaq push her tongue through Shard's lips, and Shard accept it. Jaq left a smear of blood on the back of the captain's neck and on her chest when she pushed her away. Then she looked at Tali with passionate brown eyes that almost caused her to melt in place.

"You know what this means Suit? It means I'm with her. And she's with you. So if you'll have me, I'll be with you too. And shit, how could you say no to all this?" Jaq gave her best cocky smile, cocking her hip to the side and motioning her hands down her body as if presenting a great gift. Despite herself Tali gave a small giggle, and tried to quickly cough it away.

"Well I mean…is this alright? With you I mean Shard? I am still a little unclear on some of your…customs. My people usually only have one bondmate."

Shard and Jaq laughed, but it was light and didn't contain any mockery. "Well, no one's really talking about bondmates right now. The way I see it, we're three friends, comrades in battle. Krogan find enjoyment where they can, and we understand about sharing. We have no expectations of you, and all we ask in return is no expectations of us."

"Yeah, you never gatta do nothin you don't wanna do suit. Just think of it like…what is it the humans call it? Girlfriends I think? You got two girlfriends. And we'll always have your back, on and off the battlefield."

"Well…I mean…my father wouldn't really approve." Tali gave a nervous look between the two women, her back straightening at the thought of her father's disapproval. "I think this sounds…like fun."

"Well shit fire Suit, I knew there was a little rebel under all that tight leather."

Tali grumbled, pointing a finger into Jaq's face, her other hand on her hip. "I've told you a hundred times bosh'tet, it is not leather. I cannot help what the suit looks like, it's needed to keep me alive."

"Pfft, yeah yeah yeah. All I know is that it gives a hell of a view." She looked back up at Shard and raised her eyebrows in a lewd manor. Shard shook her head and pushed her friend a bit with her new hand.

"Stop teasing her Jaq. We should be honored she would accept us."

"Oh I'm honored. Don't I look honored? You can't find another more honored looking female in our entire history. But, I'm just sayin…look at those god damn hips Shard!"

The three women laughed together, pulling each other into a tight hug.

* * *

Natano closed the door to his sleeping area. They were about 6 hours away from the next job Maw Company had lined up. He reached into one of his bags, pulling out a laptop and syncing it with his omni-tool. He knew other reporters liked to dictate everything either to an audio or video recording, but he always liked typing out his thoughts. It gave him time to think and get them in order.

'Day 1 aboard the Surtesh. So far, I've been able to seemingly gain the trust of Maw Company. I think some of my colleagues would consider my task insane, boarding a ship with a mostly krogan crew. But it is my belief that the krogans have been given an unfair shake by the Citadel and its galactic citizens. If my own people were still judged by the actions of our ancestors nearly one thousand years ago, I shudder to think of what the turians or salarians would do to us.'

'The crew is not at all what one might expect. There is no military command structure. The one who seems to be in charge is called captain, but it only seems to be of any importance to the quarian crew member, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. The other two, Urdnot Koto and Urdnot Jaq, seem to only use it to make Urdnot Shard fidget. But the woman who was born a human and who is now something more wears it well. She's the type you wouldn't be hard pressed finding at the head of an army. Koto and Jaq are better examples of squad leaders. And then there is Tali. I know how many out there perceive quarians but she could not be farther away from the stereotypes. She is not just interested in obtaining junk or treasures for her flotilla. Quite the contrary, she seems very attached to Maw Company, and her captain specifically.'

'I hope to learn more about the people on this ship, find out more about what they hope to achieve and what brought them together, outside the tragedy in Jaq and Shard's pasts. We will soon arrive at a planet only recently discovered. Koto tells me it's a scouting job. I can only hope Shard's interest in spreading the truth continues and she lets me patch into the crews' hardsuit cameras. I have high hopes for this assignment. It is my belief that Maw Company will find itself in the middle of events with far reaching consequences. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen. Make sure to follow my extranet link for further updates loyal viewers. Stay safe out there in the dark.

-Reporting, Natano Seanoa from Maw Company on the Surtesh. '

The reporter glanced over his words, fixing any spelling errors he came across. He thanked the news gods for spellcheck. He hit send quickly after that, never liking to reread his own material. He never liked to overedit, fearing the emotion would be lost. He logged out and got into bed. He wanted to get rest now before they made it to the new planet located somewhere in the Serpent Nebula. He tried to remember the name Koto had told him.

'Oh yes, that's right. Carpenter-X364. Hmm, sounds dreadful.'


	21. Chapter 21 - Adult situations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

 **THIS CHAPTER WILL INCLUDE ADULT SITUATIONS AND FLUFF. IF THAT'S NOT YOUR THING, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE NEXT CHAPTER. THE STORY WILL CONTINUE THERE.**

* * *

Tali felt as if she had been swept up in a whirlwind. This wasn't how life was supposed to go. Her people believed in one man and one woman. To do otherwise was to go against the wishes of their ancestors. At least, that's what her father, the admirals and all of her teachers had told her. And she believed it once upon a time. Until she made a fateful trip to Tuchanka. Until she had met Urdnot Jaq and Urdnot Shard. Those two...forces...had pulled her into a world of passion. They told her that's how all krogan were.

At first, she had been pulled to Shard, feeling a sense of wonder and awe. She was so different than anyone she had even heard of. Shard was everything she wasn't: outgoing, fierce, and above all, honest. Honest with others, honest with herself. Tali had tried to lie to herself at first when she felt the heat in her core every time Shard came close. She tried to lie to herself the first time Shard had pushed her against a stone wall in a hallway back on Tuchanka. But Shard saw through it all. She knew what she wanted. And she never pushed Tali until she finally gave in.

But if Shard was fierce, then Jaq was a cosmic force. The woman burned brightly in the world. She fought harder, drank harder, cursed harder and loved harder than anyone. Tali knew what they had been through together and she now understood that no one would ever come between them. Nothing in the universe could break the bonds that were forged when they survived the experiments.

And now Jaq turned those piercing brown eyes on her. The women had found themselves falling into Jaq's room. Now here Tali was, held in place on the bed, Shard with her arms around her waist, hands on her breast and her powerful legs hooked over Tali's own and spreading her wide. Just like Jaq had ordered Shard.

The others had already dropped their armor piece by piece, leaving a trail directly to the room. It would be no secret with Koto or the reporter about what was happening. Tali blushed at the thought but she knew the other two didn't care. They were never ashamed about their sexual escapades. It seems like Tali would have to get used to it as well. She still fought against the conditioning she had been raised with, but she knew this is what she wanted. She was enthralled to these two who had sworn their services to her for all time. She wasn't going to deny herself any longer.

Shard smiled when she felt Tali's ass push back against her crotch, the straps and leather rubbing against her skin. She pushed her mouth into Tali's neck, kissing it, knowing Tali could feel at least something through her nerve-simulator. Her large hands engulfed Tali's breast. They were only slightly bigger than Jaq's. Shard squeezed and pinched, feeling the quarian's nipples grow stimulated through the suit.

Jaq was standing at the foot of the bed, enjoying everything in front of her. The sight was delicious. Her tall and muscular clanmate overpowering the smaller woman. And as usual, Jaq had the lead. She reached down between her legs and started to feel her own excitement. Her skin was already glistening when she inserted a finger between her folds.

"That's right you giant bitch. Rub her all over. And keep her wide open. I want to see everything." Jaq drawled her words out, whispering dark promises. She leaned down and crawled between the quarian's legs, looking straight into where she figured her eyes were. She had a wicked smile when she looked back down into Tali's crotch. There was a wet spot on her suit now, and Jaq could see the outline of her pussy. It was a different shape than Shard's. The exotic look of it only added to the excitement. She reached out and started to pet it, gliding her finger over every part of her, finally settling on a small nub that made the girl squirm harder against Shard. She could hear Red grunt against the new pressure, and could tell she was rubbing her own cunt harder against Tali's ass.

"Oh, did I find the right spot? Shard does this make her feel good? Do you like feeling her nice ass push against your pussy? Is it making you drip even harder?" Jaq climbed higher now, straddling both Shard and Tali's knees, tangled as they were. She began to move up and down at a steady pace, one arm wrapping around the back of Shard's neck, the other reaching back down to cup Tali's vagina. They each began to move in a steady rhythm, slowly building to a crescendo. She looked right into Tali's eyes, her tongue licking across her plump and dark lips.

"Yeah, right there bitch. I'm going to fuck you all the time now. I'm going to ride you until you're nothing but a slick spot on the floor. And then one day, I'm going to tear you out of that suit and show you what I can do with my biotics." The promise must have been too much for Tali. Her orgasm shot through her the moment the words fell off Jaq's mouth, shattering her for the moment. The only sounds now in the room, the heavy breaths of all three women. Jaq climbed off of her as Shard clutched Tali closer, planting soft kisses on her neck and shoulder. Jaq leaned in close next to Tali's head.

"How about a preview love? Shard. Get your hot ass over there and bend over." Shard gave a breathless nod, standing on the side of the short bed and bending over. She braced herself on a small desk and chair. Tali could only watch as Jaq started to glow blue and Shard's body became enveloped. It was like fire danced across her, but she wasn't burning. Then she could hear Shard begin to moan, and noticed that her vagina was dripping more and more.

"Keelah!" Her pussy was being massaged, as if by invisible fingers. Jaq was leaning into Tali now, and Tali could see the same was happening to the smaller tattooed woman. Without thinking, she held onto Jaq, pulling her closer against her. Shard's arms flexed with great strength and Tali was surprised she didn't shatter the table or chair. Now both women were screaming their pleasure and both collapsed against Tali.

What followed was a tangle of limbs and unending caresses. Jaq just grunted, while Shard whispered sweet words to both women. She promised she would always be there whenever they needed her. Jaq smiled back at Tali.

"Heh, Red always gets sentimental after a good fuck."

Shard only smiled and pulled Jaq into deep kiss. A kiss Tali very much wished she could join in on. The best she could do was climb on top of Shard, and feel herself get enveloped by two large arms. She could tell her new one was a bit cold, but thankfully her suit compensated for that. Tali reached over and pulled Jaq's hand into a tight grasp.

"That was an impressive trick Jaq. Maybe one day I'll show you what a quarian can do when properly...motivated."

Jaq's eyebrow shot up and a small chuckle came out of her beautiful mouth as she reached over and turned out the light. "Well fuck me and call me an asari. Suit's got a little quad on her. Well don't make promises you can't keep little one. I'll hold you to them." Jaq wrapped a leg over Shard's and Tali's before the three of them fell into a content sleep.


	22. Chapter 22 - This Place is a Nightmare

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

As the Surtesh completed its scan of the planet and moved in through the atmosphere of the planet, a new ship entered the system. It looked battered and had scarring across its hull, which wasn't much to look at to begin with. An outside observer would tell you it was on its last leg by the telltale sign of its wobble. On the bridge, orders were being shouted to the crew. The collection of gruff looking batarians and humans moved frantically, putting out fires and any number of other emergencies just to keep the ship space worthy. But the male shouting the orders, a batarian by the name of Sorvex who considered himself an admiral, knew they had to get planet side soon if they didn't want the eezo core to overload.

He pushed debris off of the console he used as his galaxy map, trying to get a scan of the area. He used to be in command of five ships but now this was the only one left, thanks to the bastard Hierarchy and Alliance. He had to make several jumps before he had been able to lose them, but it had pushed his already battered ship to its breaking point. And as far as he could tell, there was only one planet in the system where he'd be able to survive long without a ship until it could be repaired. His map had not been updated in several months so the planet was still listed as unknown. He punched in the coordinates.

* * *

Jaq and Shard stepped outside the mouth of the large cave they had been able to squeeze the Surtesh inside of. Koto and Tali agreed to stay with the ship to make sure nothing happened to it while the other two women conducted their field report. The scans in atmo showed some large clusters of life forms in this area. Oddly, the scans covered the entire planet despite the missing signs of civilization.

Shard unshipped her sniper rifle and peered into the scope to get the lay of the land. Rolling hills covered in lush grass and sprinkled with flowers of different colors. They danced with grace as a strong breeze flows down the hill. Further in the horizon, a mountain range with frosty peaks. Ahead of them, a small wooded area.

Jaq whistled her approval. "Well, it's no Tuchanka, but I could see why someone would want to build here. A bit too sunny for me though." Shard lowered her rifle, but kept it ready. She took a deep breath, trying to get a deeper sense of the place. Something on the wind tickled her nose and she sneezed.

"Something's bothering me. Why haven't we seen anything yet? The scans showed activity off the charts. I expected the place to be teeming. So where is everything?"

Jaq shrugged. "You got me Red. I don't know nothin' about this place. But I don't like the quiet. Means something's hidin'. And if shit's hidin', it means its smart enough to fuck with ya."

Shard nodded at the wisdom of the statement, moving forward a bit. The women started making their way through the forest, syncing back up with the ship so they could track them just in case. As Shard suggested, they both came geared for a fight. Full armor and helmets, and Jaq brought her demo kit as well as a grenade launcher on her back. Shard had her shotgun out now, stepping lightly through the brush. They suddenly heard movement in a nearby shrub.

"Jaq check it out, I'm going cloak."

Jaq rolled her eyes, "you always send me to the best fucking places." Jaq heard Shard shimmer into cover as she brought her shotgun up and inched closer to the bush. When she was within a few feet of it, she saw a small furry creature bounce out. Something one might consider cute. Jaq just thought it would make a good meal. She shipped her shotgun back into place and pulled out her handgun. But when she pointed it at the small creature, she heard a rustle behind her.

"Shit Jaq, move!" A loud blast rang out behind her as Shard's cloak fizzled out. Jaq spun and saw something that her brain could barely register. It looked…wrong. Dangling from a tree by tentacle like appendages, a bundle of flesh writhed in front of her. It was rocking from the force of the blast delivered by Shard. Jaq couldn't understand it, there wasn't anything similar to a face she could recognize. But there were mouths. Several of them. New ones ripping into existence as teeth forced their way through the flesh. And it was screaming. Jaq could feel it in her chest. Rage, hunger, power. When two tendrils, sharpened on their tips shot towards her, she was just able to roll out of the way next to Shard.

Jaq reached out with her hand, putting the creature into a stasis field. Then both she and Shard unloaded into the thing, pouring enough heated metal into it that it was ripped from the branches it hung from. It splat on the ground with a mushy sound. Shard hesitantly moved closer, shooting it one more time for good measure. When the shot hit, it started to scurry away, trying to find safety. Shard could hardly believe her eyes when she saw the creature suddenly sprout four bloody legs, its body twisting them into existence. They must have been powerful because it was able to leap from the ground into the canopy of the trees above. Jaq had been about to hurry in the direction it went when she felt her foot caught on something.

She looked down to see a new horror. The small white creature that she had seen initially wrapped its hands around her legs. It was screaming now too, but its mouth didn't stop getting wider. Its face split open, matting the fur on its body with deep red blood. Even its skull cracked open and spread further, a tongue like muscle now slithering up her armor. She reached for it just as it was about to wrap around her neck. The sensors in her armor started ringing alarms, registering acidic damage. Before it could burn her any further, she wreathed her body in biotic flame. The tongue pulled away quickly, screeching in pain. Shard came up behind the small creature with her shotgun, pumping several rounds into it. More blood splattered on her armor and the ground but the creature didn't stop moving. Hundreds of tiny legs broke through its body, looking newly formed and covered in gore. It was about to scuttle away like the other one had when a small canister hit it. A great flame wrapped around its body, its screams reaching a shattering pitch, when it finally stopped moving. Shard looked over at Jaq, another incendiary grenade in her hands.

"What…the…fuck?!"

Shard moved her back to Jaq's, her gun still trained on the trees. "I think we found what our scanners were telling us about. Some strange new kind of lifeform, able to withstand a great deal of damage…but you were able to take it out."

Jaq couldn't help the laugh as she put her grenade back on her belt and opened up her omni-tool, "Well, when it doubt, kill it with fire."

Shard smiled as well, starting up the incendiary ammo tech tree on her omni-tool as well, "It seems like a rule that has served you well. I don't know about you, but I say we get the hell out of here. If something like this lives here, I think it's easy to say it's at the top of the food chain. And possibly intelligent. We have enough for our employers to do what they want with it."

"Sounds good Red. I'm gonna let the crew know we're on our way back." Jaq tried to pull up her comms but all she got back was static. She looked over at Shard who was looking down at the tool. Jaq could see the concern in her eyes through her helmet. Without a word, the two made a run back towards their ship. But they didn't get 20 feet before more creatures scuttled out of the trees. They were surrounded.

"You gotta stop taking the easy sounding jobs Red!"

* * *

Natano watched the video feeds from the suits in amazement, already filing his report. He typed quickly trying to keep up with what he saw. A new lifeform, seemingly able to change its form and mass at will, very resilient against almost anything except for fire. Jaq and Shard tried to get in touch with the others but for some reason the communication hadn't gone through. And now they were fighting their way back to the ship against hundreds of the creatures.

Natano jumped up from his seat, leaving his report for later, as he hurried through the ship. He found Tali and Koto still waiting just outside the cargo hold. He tried to speak while catching his breath at the same time.

"Shard…Jaq…monsters…killing…tried…to…call…need…hurry…"

"What the hell are you trying to say human?"

"Natano please we cannot understand you. You need to calm down."

The reporter took a deep breath before better explaining everything. They each pulled out their shotguns and Tali tried to call Shard on her omni-tool. Only static. Koto made his way to the mouth of the cave.

"Something's jamming us. We're not alone."

Tali was about to speak up when she saw Koto take a shot directly to his helmet. It was a glancing blow that skidded off the curve of it, but was strong enough to knock him back into Tali. She looked back at the reporter, still standing in the opening of the cargo hold. "Get the ship locked up now!"

He didn't waste any time, following the orders. He ran quickly back to his console, turning Koto and Tali's hardsuit cameras on so he could monitor everyone. Shard and Jaq were still fighting, covered in chunks and blood. Fire raged around them, and from Tali's suit he could see the smoke from the horizon.

Tali scrambled into cover when Koto rolled off of her, recovering quickly. He hugged the wall opposite of Tali on the other side of the opening. He saw a batarian brazenly walking towards them, flanked by several other figures. A few more batarians and humans. He could only tell because these weren't wearing helmets. Tali and Koto were about to fire when they were forced back into cover by more shots. A loud voice could be heard over the shots.

"You scum, how did you miss? I want you to get in there and kill them. They have to have a ship. We'll need it if we want to get out of here."

Koto looked over at Tali shouting, "Fucking pirates. They must have landed nearby after we were already here. They're either looking for slaves or they need our ship." As if to answer him, Tali heard a loud explosion that shook the ground underneath her. Koto could see a shockwave roll over the hills and a small mushroom cloud in the distance. Their ship must have been badly damaged for the core to go critical like that. He needed to take care of these bastards quickly if they didn't want to die from eezo poisoning.

The tremor was enough to give Tali an opening. The pirates had fallen as well when the explosion hit. She scrambled to her feet throwing out a grenade between the men with one hand, and summoning a drone with her other. She jumped back into cover as Koto leaned out and started to fire. Thankfully there was a lack of cover for the pirates and he was able to make kill shots on three of them before they forced him back into cover. He heard the one in charge screaming again.

"I'll peel the skin from your face, and use it for a condom when I fuck your whore!"

Tali laughed over the insult. "Sounds like someone thinks very highly of themselves."

Natano heard the comment through his feed. "Well Tali. You cheeky bitch," he said with a surprised smile. He looked back at his feeds from Jaq and Shard. They were running at full speed now. When they looked back, they seemed to be followed by a wall of flesh, undulating creatures rolling over each other. They were getting close to the opening of the woods. He ran out of his room and back down towards the cargo hold. He got the door open just in time to see Shard and Jaq burst through the woods. They still had a long way to the cave, and following closely behind them, something else burst through the trees.

Koto and Tali got their first view of the creatures. They moved as one, pushing into each other. Tali thought it looked like something out of her ancestor's tales of the afterlife. A wall of mouths screaming, teeth gnashing, and it was coming straight for her. Jaq and Shard didn't even slow down to give the pirates a glance. Their shields deflected a few shots before the pirates turned to see what else was coming. As the one without a helmet was screaming orders, something flew off the larger mass. It crashed into his face, and from what Koto could see, forced its way down his throat. After that, it looked as if the man's head was pulled into his own body, blending with whatever he had just swallowed. The now headless man, started to shamble towards the other pirate, who was now running as well.

Jaq screamed as she moved through the cave. "Come on let's go, we're getting the fuck out of here right now!" Jaq was about to run through the cargo hold when Shard hooked her with her robotic arm, sending her into a spin around the hatch.

"Jaq wait, we're covered in this shit. We need to go into the decontamination chamber up ahead. The rest of you get inside and get us out of here." Jaq moved with Shard now as she headed towards the front of the ship. Shard pulled up her omni-tool and a small tube lowered from the bottom of the ship next to one of the landing gears. Both women got inside, cramped together. Jaq looked up at Shard as the chamber started to scan and burn off any foreign contaminants from their armor.

"Well if you just wanted to shove your tits in my face, you didn't have to go through this much trouble. We got enough monsters back home if you want that."

"Shut up Jaq."

* * *

Koto was the last one to move through the hatch. Tali was already running towards the cockpit. He had been about to shut the hatch when he saw the last pirate running for it as well. Koto pulled out his shotgun, ready to fire, but he didn't have to. Smaller creatures peeled off the slower moving mass and pulled him down. They were breaking his armor down, burning through to his flesh with some sort of slime. Koto didn't turn away as he saw the batarian underneath the helmet screaming in horror as the creatures started to hemorrhage and bleed into any opening they could find. Brownish liquid crawled up his nose and into his eyes, seeped through his wounds and burns. His body started to convulse and if Koto wasn't mistaken, the pirate's flesh began to melt. And it looked like the other creatures absorbed the new flesh into their own.

"Got what you deserve pyjak." With a grunt, Koto slammed his fist down, closing the hatch behind him. He felt the ship lifting as he moved into the cockpit. Tali was about to bring the ship around when she saw the entrance was blocked now by the mass. Koto sat in the co-pilot's chair as Jaq and Shard strapped themselves into chairs behind them.

"Tali, I'm taking over, we're going to have to go deeper into the cave system if we hope to get out of here."

"Keelah, what if we get blocked in?" Tali hurried and transferred controls over to the more experienced pilot.

"Too late to worry about that now girly. Everyone hold onto their asses." Koto brought the ship into a 180 degree turn, scraping some of the walls in the tight corridors. He had scanned the area earlier and knew this was just a small part of a large network. He pushed the ship as fast as he could safely maneuver it. They went deeper into the planet with each turn, the creature never too far behind them as it continued its hunt. The krogan pilot needed to use the ships scanners to even know where he was going at this point, darkness enveloping them. His hands danced across the console. Several long minutes later, they found themselves in what looked like the center of the network. Tali looked over the scans.

"I can't believe it. Whatever this was, it could only have been created intentionally. Natural caves don't form in a pattern like this."

"Meaning what Suit?"

"It means, wherever we are, we might not be alone. Shard, do you remember how your scans picked up lifeforms from every part of the planet? It is possible it is because this creature is larger than we have seen. And it was hidden underground."

Shard looked out the window, her eyes hard. "And now so are we. Tali. Turn on the ships lights."

"Oh fuck, I don't wanna see this shit…"

Tali didn't pay attention to Jaq's protest. She was too terrified to hear it. When she had turned on the lights, she saw where they were. The cave was domed, with hundreds of smaller holes like the one they had entered. And directly below them, they saw something. It dwarfed their ship. It would have dwarfed most ships. And it was alive. The light hitting it seemed to burn it. Undulating flesh rolled and pulsed. Pillars of meat formed and collapsed, bursting to life only to collapse back into the main body. She could see eyes and teeth, some sharp and some blunt, and they all looked different. As if they came from different creatures and were smashed together.

Shard broke the silence. "This is another one of those creatures…how many of these horrors are there? Koto, find us an exit now."

"Working on it Shard…" Koto spit between gritted teeth. He moved the ship away from the hole he came from just in time to dodge the creature that had been chasing them. Like a maw, it craned back and forth trying to wrap itself around the ship. Koto pushed further away. Jaq moved to a side console and started to type in a command. The ship lurched and scanners showed she had just dumped out several explosives and rockets from the Surtesh's payload. When the explosions struck, the cave started to vibrate with an unworldly moan. Shard opened up the display to some of the ships external cameras to get a look at what it was doing now. Pieces of the giant mass in the center of the room were burning up. But then the creature chasing them fell into it, splashing down as if it were made of liquid. What was once thousands of smaller animals almost seemed to fuse into the larger body.

"I don't believe it. They're all part of the same creature. Like some kind of hive mind. It can peel off pieces of itself, get it to look like anything it wants and when it needs them back…pulls them back in." Koto didn't waste any more time while the creature healed itself. He aimed the ship towards the exit furthest away from the mass and made his way back out through the cave, finally breaking into daylight. A few short moments later they found themselves back in the relative safety of space. Everyone leaned back into their chairs, too relieved to speak. When Natano ran back into the room, the shock was enough to make everyone jump.

"Well that certainly was an adventure!" Jaq unstrapped herself and pushed past the man, muttering curses under her breath.

* * *

Natano hit record on his omni-tool. "Hello, this is Natano Seanoa reporting from the area of a newly discovered planet where a new and dangerous lifeform has just been found. The crew of Maw Company was hired to scout the planet, recently designated as Carpenter-X364, and catalogue the lifeforms they encountered. Shortly after coming to the planet, the crew found several creatures that almost defy description. They can seemingly change shape and mass at will. It is unknown what level of intelligence they have but they are highly aggressive. So aggressive that Maw Company was forced to retreat from the planet, while also fighting off an attack from pirates who had crashed landed nearby shortly after their arrival. These images come from the suits of Urdnot Shard and Urdnot Jaq as they narrowly escaped being devoured by the creatures, dubbed Morphs. Besides being able to change shape, the Morphs were resilient against gunfire, but could be damaged through biotic flames and conventional fire. But when the creatures were damaged, they seemed to collect into a larger mass, seemingly controlled by a collective intelligence. While we escaped from the planet, we also collected evidence of an even larger collection of the Morph creature in the center of a large cave network. We have passed our finding along to the company that had hoped to settle here. Citadel forces have already set up a quarantine around the planet, and no one is being allowed to enter atmosphere. I reached out to several Citadel sources but no one had any comment about what plans there are, if any, of what to do with the morph creature. Reporting from the Surtesh, this is Natano Seanoa. Stay safe out there."

The reporter ended his recording and began to splice over video with his report. He already uploaded all the footage to his extranet page. While his sources at the Citadel didn't want him spreading the footage, he never bothered with cover-ups. The galaxy already had enough news reports out there filtered through the Citadel censors. He always prided himself over being a counter balance to that. He finished his edit and hit the send button, distributing his report to all the news outlets, as well as his own outlets on the extranet.

He made his way back towards the kitchen where Jaq and Shard were eating. He never had the chance to work with biotics before. He didn't know where the two fit women put all the food they had to go through to keep their energy up. Shard nodded at him as Jaq continued to rip apart her meal.

"Your report turn out well?"

"I believe so madam. I hope you'll let me know what you think if you get a chance to take a look."

"Sure. I'll finally be able to see if you're worth all your pretty words. Who knows, if it's good, I might actually let your stick around."

"Then I await with baited breath. So, where is our next destination?"

"We got another job lined up. Guard duty. Helping beef up the defenses of another Alliance colony. Apparently there have been pirate attacks."

Jaq tore a piece of meat from a bone, talking through it. "I hope those slave taking shitcunts are stupid enough to take on Maw Company. We'll smear the walls with em!" Jaq gripped Shard's shoulder and looked over at her, a manic smile spreading across both women's lips. Natano grabbed up his meal and brought it back to his room, leaving the two women to headbutt each other.

' _Well next stop, Elysium I suppose. These people may be crazy, but at least they get you a lot of page views.'_


	23. Chapter 23 - Landing on Elysium

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Major Felix Moreci was nearing the end of his rope. Here he was in charge of the defense of Elysium and all of the Alliance's interests on the colony and yet he was forced to dirty his precious military forces with outsiders. He resisted the request for as long as he could. But the Sergeant who put in the request has built up a lot of good will with the brass off colony. So Moreci put out the request. There were few answers. Apparently, not a lot of mercs wanted to help out the Alliance. All the better for him. But finally someone decided to answer the call. Inside his ornately furnished office, he was looking over details about the forces he had on planet, as well as off. Across from him, sitting in a chair that cost more than what most made in a year, was the Sergeant who had the bright idea. He demeanor was calm, and Moreci thought looked very practiced. His head was topped with short black hair, his skin tan and from his files the Major remembered this was one of the few biotics he had on base with an L2 implant. Moreci didn't look up when he addressed him.

"Sergeant Kaiden Alenko, I trust there is an issue if you are bothering me in my office."

Alenko's back straightened. "No sir. I just thought you'd be interested in learning more about the people we hired as reinforcements. They just arrived. I'll be heading off to show them around the colony after this."

"I trust you vetted them thoroughly Sergeant. You've already gotten approval for your little project. I have more important things on my plate. I doubt you'll ever find yourself burdened with the responsibilities of command, especially of the prestige of a colony like Elysium. I'm sure I'll learn more about this when your friends end up being a problem. You would do well Sergeant, to try and make sure that never happens."

"Yes sir."

"Now get out of my office."

Sergeant Alenko stood and gave a crisp salute. He turned on his heel and walked out of the room. To anyone looking, you wouldn't be able to tell just how much he did not enjoy being in the company of the Major. He had worked for superiors like this before. Posh, above it all. Probably pushed ahead of real soldiers because of powerful friends back on Earth. But that wasn't why Kaiden became a marine. He just wanted to protect humans. If he dealt with a few assholes to do that, it was something he could tolerate.

The Sergeant moved towards the port, passing civilians and the colony's armed forces on his way. Ever since they got new intel of an increase in possible pirate attacks he made at least a dozen reports with different suggestions on how to be better prepared. He asked to give combat training to civilian volunteers, or upgrade the guns and armor of the troops already stationed here. The only thing he got approved was to hire outside reserves to be used on the frontlines. And here they stood now in front of him: Maw Company.

It was a unique bunch. There was an abnormally tall woman with short red hair and robotic arm. She was currently surveying her surroundings. A quarian woman stood close to her. She didn't look quite nervous but a bit pensive. If he had seen her alone on the street, he would never have guessed she was part of an infamous merc group. Her arms were crossed under her chest. A krogan stood in the back. Not much to comment on Kaiden thought. He wished he could feel differently, but when it came to krogans they all looked the same to him. Unfair he knew but there it was. Next to him, talking to a large human man with dark skin and curly hair was a lithe human woman. She was quite animated. The man seemed to be taking it well though. He didn't look like a fighter but looked like he belonged with the group. As he got closer he could start hearing what the woman was saying.

"-ust think about it Natano. You haven't lived until you've partied with krogans on Tuchanka."

"My dear Jaq, whatever would lead you to believe I have never enjoyed the festivities of your people? I am quite traveled I'll have you know."

Jaq gave him a dry look. "Yeah, I'm fucking sure. Look just give me a straight answer. If you're gonna be hangin' with us, we gotta make sure you can actually hang."

The larger man made a big act of looking thoughtful. "Well when you put it like that, how could I say no? I do hope you can keep up my dear."

Jaq burst out laughing, doubling over with her hands on her knees. By the time Kaiden got close, he could actually see tears in her eyes. She looked up at him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh shit, and now there's this guy."

Kaiden cleared his throat. "Uh right, I'm Sergeant Kaiden Alenko. I'm in charge of you all while you're here on Elysium. If you're ready, I can show you around the parts of the colony you'll be serving at."

The team stepped behind Kaiden as he started leading them around the area. He showed them the different buildings, where they could get something to eat, where they could get armor and guns if they needed it. Jaq just laughed at him.

"Thanks and all boy scout, but you ain't gotta worry 'bout us. We're always ready to fuck shit up." He looked back at the smaller woman, and she just smiled as the rest of Maw Company pulled out one weapon or another. Even the reporter pulled out his omni-tool. But he just activated his camera function. Shard raised her eyebrow at him.

"Well, it's a sort of weapon. At least in my capable hands." Shard smiled and nodded back at him before turning back towards Kaiden.

"Thank you for showing us around Sergeant. We'll be around when you need us. We're going to get a few things from our ship. You have our contacts." Maw Company moved out but Shard stopped after a few steps. She turned and looked at Kaiden with an assessing eye. He gulped, feeling like a piece of meat on sale at a butcher's shop.

"You look attractive and strong Alenko. I bet you'd sire powerful children." She smiled when he blushed and stuttered out something that might have been a thanks. "I'll be seeing you." She stepped away, lighter than he would have thought. He had researched Urdnot Shard before hiring Maw Company. But the reality was far different than reputation. She was a force. They all were in their own right.

Kaiden was pulled from his thoughts when an emergency bulletin came across his omni-tool. _'What the hell is it now?'_ Apparently several pirates were reported in a nearby system. And the Alliance decided to investigate it using more than half the ships they had to defend Elysium. It's not the order he would have given, but it was the cards he'd have to deal with. He could only hope his preparations would be enough should the worst happen here.

* * *

This was the time for greatness. Elanos Haliat always knew he would be remembered in history for his majesty and cunning, and this was the moment the batarian was waiting for. He just got a report that half the defenses around Elysium had left. He had no idea why, but he wouldn't squander the opportunity it presented. It took him years of backroom dealing, double-crosses and promises to get the resources he would need for a raid of this size.

Not even Aria, supposed Queen of the Terminus, ever did anything on this scale. But now, with a little help from the Hegemony, he was on the verge of the greatest raid ever known. And when Elysium, the jewel of the Alliance's colonization initiative, was nothing more than a ruined landscape he and his forces would make their way back to the Terminus, rich like warlords. And he'd let the Hegemony take the brunt of the counter-attack. The Alliance would be out for blood, but not even they were reckless enough to take on the untamed wildland that was the Terminus. His ships were getting ready to move out. They'd be jumping through the relay in several hours.

A turian woman stepped up next to him. Her mandibles clicked in a sensual pattern while her hands rubbed his neck. He turned and pushed her back, but it only added to the want in her eyes.

"Not now Caelvia. I've got planning to do. This needs to go perfect if we hope to pull it off. And you should be getting your teams ready for the ground assault."

Caelvia Ignamus, a bloodthirsty psychopath Elanos gained the services of after several botched attempts on her part to collect a bounty on his head. Eventually they settled things in the bed room. After she killed nearly all of his men. She told him his survival instincts impressed her, not to mention a few of his other assets. Her services had come in handy rebuilding his powerbase. She had her uses, if one could keep her focused enough to pull it off.

"Sorry, can't help myself. You know how the promise of a raid gets my body quivering." She put her talons behind his neck, sliding another one down his cheek, leaving a slight trail of blood. "Just the thought of all the screaming and blood." She purred next to his ear, nipping it slightly with her mandibles. "You better get me there soon Haliat, or I'll have to take out all this pent up energy on little old you."

Haliat forcibly grabbed her hands, forcing them down. His grip was strong and he pushed her back until her back slammed against the wall. A gasp escaped her lips, and the fire in her eyes only intensified. "Caelvia, if you can hold on for just a bit longer, I promise you more blood and slaves than you have ever dreamed of. But if I think even for a second you'll get in the way of my glory, I'll space you before we even hit the relay."

She threw her head back with a cruel laughter. "Oh you're such a sweet talker." She turned, swaying her hips as she moved out of the room. Her words came from over her shoulder, filled with dark promises. "I'll find you when this is all over." Elanos fought off a shudder. He didn't have time for those kinds of thoughts. He turned back to his console, and smiled when he saw the last of his forces had showed up. It was time. He sent out the command, and hundreds of ships started their journey towards the doomed colony.

* * *

Shard could feel the hard looks she was getting. She felt like she was covered in crosshairs. And they all came from the Alliance military forces that were also in the bar Maw Company decided to grace tonight. It was strange she thought. The civilians were much more gracious towards her. Maybe the soldiers were worried about being shown up. She sighed and picked up the next round of drinks before heading back towards their booth. She didn't want to give them any more thought. They were here to do a job, and right now they just wanted to have a good time. She placed the drinks down at the table and sat down next to Tali. She put a hand on her thigh underneath the table, giving it a squeeze.

"Sorry Tali. They don't have anything you can drink. You sure you don't mind us drinking."

The quarian squeezed Shard's hand. "It's fine Shard. I didn't expect them to. Not many quarians get out this way. I'll just make sure you and Jaq get home alright."

Jaq slammed her hand down on the table, the drink in her other hand spilling slightly. "What are ya tryin' to say Suit? That I can't handle my drink? I could drink you under the table girly." Jaq leaned forward, a toothy grin showing off several sharp canines. Tali leaned forward to match her.

"Don't try to pick a fight with me you gorgeous bosh'tet. I'd put you on the floor so fast, you'd be begging me for relief." The two were nearly eye-to-eye if not for Tali's facemask. After a tense moment, Jaq barked out a laugh and planted a wet kiss in the middle of Tali's mask.

"Shard I think we're finally rubbing off on Tali. Always knew you were tough. And soft, in all the right places." A lewd look came over Jaq, as Tali just shook her head, leaning into Shard's shoulder. Shard gave her a squeeze. It went like this for a few more rounds. Koto and Natano decided to call it an early night, much to Jaq's mocking.

"Fucking lightweights. We haven't even gotten to the dancin' yet!"

Koto merely stated that krogan warriors don't dance. Jaq knew a challenge when she heard one. As the two males made their exits, Tali and Jaq dragged Shard onto the dance floor. It was the most uncomfortable Tali could ever recall her captain looking.

"No come on, I don't know what the hell to do. You two go have fun. I'll just break someone's foot."

"No way bitch. You're getting your ass out there and shakin' it."

"Jaq's right," Tali pulled Shard onto the dance floor and pressed the back of her body against her captain. "You just let me do all the work and try to keep up captain." Shard gulped. Tali's voice sent her stomach into a tumble. The sounds were overwhelming her. Tali seemed to flow with the beat, pushing back and down against her. Jaq was nearby, moving with a grace all her own. It was more kinetic than Tali, thrashing and hard but it showed what she could do with her small and athletic frame. Shard shuffled from side to side, moving her arms a bit just trying to keep up. If nothing else it got a giggle out of Tali.

Jaq was less forgiving. "Oh god, I should take a video of this shit. Damn Red, just move over and let me show you how it's done." Shard felt a hard shove and soon she was out of Tali's grip. Jaq quickly took her place. Tali gave her a sorry look, but that didn't stop her from moving against Jaq. Not that Shard wanted them to stop. She smiled and crossed her arms, enjoying the show as her two friends slid sensually against each other. Tali's hands roamed and Jaq gave the quarian's ass a firm smack. Shard could see their little display was attracting a lot of attention, not all of it approving. She gave a hard look to them all, making more than a few look away in fear. One didn't look away though.

A marine in military BDUs with a hard face and more than a few scars. Shard didn't like the way he was looking at her, but she didn't shy away. She stared down harder males than this before. He seemed to laugh at her lack of shame, downing another beer for courage and getting up to stride over to her. She rolled her eyes and tried to enjoy the sight of her two friends dancing when he sauntered up.

"Hello love. What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"Trying to have fun. And a drink. Why else would one come to a bar?"

"Oh I don't know, there are lots of reasons. As to an example, perhaps to find attractive individuals. And to spend some quality time with them." His smile only achieved to make her frown all the more deeper.

"I'll save you some time. I do not wish to fuck you male. Now please leave me. I'm trying to have fun with my friends here."

The man looked properly put out, and cast a disgusted look at Jaq and Tali. "Should have known you were a dyke. And a disgusting xenophile at that. Well I wouldn't stick my dick in you if you had the cure for cancer in your cunt. Who knows what you caught from that suitrat over there." He went to spit on Shard's boot but it got caught in his throat when a powerful metal hand gripped his neck.

"No one talks about Tali like that. Keep acting like this and you're going to find yourself in a world of hurt." Shard shoved him back hard, sending him crashing into the table he came from. The music was still blaring when he got back up, dripping with alcohol. He grabbed a bottle and ran towards Shard with it lifted in the air. She didn't seem worried as he got near. Before he got close enough to swing, he was sent crashing to the ground when Jaq slammed her body into him. She mounted him and ripped the bottle out of his hand.

"Hey fucker, no one messes with Red except me. Now you play nice or I'll kick your ass so hard, I'll have to wear you for a boot."

He struggled against her but couldn't push her off. "Someone get this bitch off me!"

His friends huddled around the three women. The rest of the dance floor had vacated. "You better let him go now if you know what's good for you."

Tali stepped forward, putting her hands up in a placating motion. "Look let's just calm down. We're all on the same side here right? Why don't you let us buy you a round and we get back to having fun?"

"Yeah right whore. I ain't takin' nothin' from no dirty quarian. Everyone knows about your kind. We don't want to catch any of your alien diseases." Tali was used to the look of disgust he cast her way. Shard looked ready to take the man's head off. She had stepped forward but Tali held her back with both her hands on her chest.

"Shard please, they aren't worth it. Let's just get out of here." Shard didn't take her eyes off the men but backed up a step, holding her hand down towards Jaq to help her up. The three women faced the men still poised to strike. Tali was about to turn her back when she saw the man Jaq had on the ground bring his bottle down, aiming towards her head. Tali moved quickly, knowing her helmet could take the blow. The bottle cracked over her facemask, the alcohol staining her suit. Jaq's eyes glowed with blue rage. Tali just sighed.

"Well, that does it you stupid fucks!" Tali brought her palm up quickly under the man's chin, sending him flying backwards to be grabbed by his friend. Before they could recover, Jaq leaped at them, her fist glowing blue. She knocked the entire group to the floor, pounding anything she could reach. One of the men on the edge scuttled out of the fray. He recovered and tried to pull Jaq off his friends. But then he felt someone grab him by the back of his neck and he was lifted off the ground. Shard didn't even say anything when she sent him flying through a table behind her, shattering it into splinters. Before the girls knew it, more marines joined in on the brawl, happy for an excuse to get into a fight, not much caring about the reason.

Before long, it found its way outside the bar, when Tali and Jaq sent a man crashing through a window head first. He lay on the ground bleeding as Shard strode through the doorway. She called for her friends to join her and to hopefully make a swift exit while the others continued to fight inside. But they didn't make it more than a couple of blocks before they were stopped by several armed military police.

"Hold it right there, we're bringing you three in on charges of assault. Come peacefully or we'll put you down right now." Shard looked around sighing again.

"Just wanted a fucking beer..." She slowly raised her hands, nodding towards the other two to do the same.

* * *

Kaiden reported to the Major's office as quickly as he could once he got the summons. When he entered, he saw Major Moreci standing there, along with a Private he didn't recognize. He gave a quick salute before asking what was going on.

"Not one day. Your outsiders weren't here for more than one day before they started trouble. Now I've got a dozen injured marines, thousands in damages to deal with and a merc group currently rotting in the brig. I told you Sergeant, hiring them was a bad idea."

Kaiden didn't let it phase him. He simply asked what happened. The private stepped forward. He saluted, but he somehow made it look cocky. "Private Samuel Franks sir. I was there. We were just having some fun and before you knew it the mercs went crazy. That big freak was throwing hardened marines around, and her two henchwomen were just as brutal. If I had my way, I'd put a bullet in their heads and be done with the whole thing." The Major didn't seem upset at the suggestion. Kaiden didn't bother arguing. Instead he pulled up video surveillance from the bar. He let the video play out in front of the other two men.

The Major gave it a bored glance, while the Private seemed to grumble as his versions of events were disputed by the evidence. When it ended, Kaiden turned off his omni-tool. "Well, it seems simple enough sir. The women were defending themselves. I say we let them out once they cool their heels for a bit. And I would suggest keeping them away from the other marines. Let cooler heads prevail." Franks gave Kaiden a dirty look and seemed ready to suggest something before remembering rank. The Major waved off the suggestion before returning to his desk.

"Do what you will Major. Just remember that your reputation is tied directly to theirs. They were your suggestion after all. And I want you to keep a close eye on that quarian girl. Don't need her nosing around in things that aren't her business." Kaiden frowned at the dirty comment but did his best to ignore it. The Major dismissed them both. When they both left, he brought up the surveillance again. He paused it when he got a clear shot of Shard and Jaq.

He opened up a communication application on his omni-tool, as well as a high level encryption code. It connected quickly, audio only.

"Sir, this is Major Felix Moreci on Elysium. I'm sending you something I think you'll be interested in."

After a few moments, the deep but quiet voice came back. "Major, you know who these two are and how important they are to us?"

"Yes sir I do, and I currently have them in cells following a small brawl last night."

"Excellent Major. But why are we only learning about this now if you've had them with you for at least a day? We could have had a retrieval unit on its way by now." The Major shivered at the annoyance in the voice.

"I'm sorry Sir. I-uh-didn't fully understand who we had here until a few moments ago. I recognized them from the files on VIPs wanted by the organization. But like I said, we have them now and I can make sure they don't go anywhere."

There was a small pause. "Make it happen Major. I'm expecting them back on Earth soon. And if it doesn't happen Major, I'll know exactly who to blame when the boss asks for an updat-" The call suddenly cut off. The Major frantically tried to reestablish the link when alarms started to blare in the facility. Reports started to flood his console and a marine barged into his office.

"Sir we just lost communication out of the system, and the sensors are showing a major force is heading our way! It's a raid, the biggest I've ever heard of."

"Of all the god damn times...Well what are you waiting for? Get everyone off their asses and get ready to repel the bastards." The man gave a crisp salute and ran back from where he came. He would have to hope their ships in orbit and their captains would be able to do their jobs. But first he needed to make sure nothing else happened to his other mission. He tapped a few commands on his omni-tool.

"Private Samuel Franks. This is the Major. Come to my office at once. And bring a few of your friends who you can trust to be discreet. I have a mission for you."


	24. Chapter 24 - Raids in the Verge

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Shard gave the Alliance this: they didn't skimp out on jail cells. She had plenty of room to move around, and the bed wasn't too uncomfortable. She was currently sitting crossed-legged on the floor, trying to focus on her meditation. Jaq wasn't making it easy.

"Fucking assholes. Don't know how to take a good fight. Sore losers." She presses her face between the bars, screaming louder down the dark hall. "You hear me? Alliance marines fight like salarians!" Tali leaned against her wall, her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Keelah. When my father finds out I got arrested, he's going to exile me." She leaned her head down into her hands.

"Aw come on Suit. Your Tuva can't hold it against you. What, you ain't allowed to defend yourself? Or your friends? Besides, you showed those pricks just how tough quarians can be. Xenophobic bag of dicks." Tali relented and gave up a chuckle.

"Well…it was nice to try and knock some sense into someone for once. Quarians are used to this kind of treatment. It's usually best to just ignore it and move along. You won't find many people willing to have your back."

Jaq moved to the corner of her cell, holding her arm out between the bars and over so Tali could see her give her a thumbs up. "Luckily for you, you found yourself in the care of two of the baddest bitches out there. Right Shard? Shard? Oh come on, it's been an hour. Wake up already!"

Shard didn't open her eyes. "I'm not asleep Jaq. I'm just keeping my focus. Not all of us left Siva's teaching's behind." Jaq mocked her words back at her.

"Why, you worried about something happening to us? We'll get out of here soon. And until then, the least you can do is keep us entertained with conversation. I mean, what else do we have to worry about?"

As if on cue, alarms started blaring in the facility. Shard slowly got up stepping up to the bars blocking her. She didn't say anything, but shot a shit-eating-grin over at the smaller woman. Jaq scoffed, flipping Shard the middle finger. Tali moved up to her bars, looking back and forth when she noticed a figure approaching.

"Wait, someone's coming." The women strained their ears to hear over the alarms, and could hear the taps of metal boots on the ground. The sound of someone in full armor. When he got close enough in the light, Shard recognized him right away.

"Well, if I had to guess, you're either here to make sure we don't go anywhere, or to let us out so we can help. So, which is it Sergeant Alenko?"

Kaiden didn't waste time. He slammed his fist down on the quick release, opening the women's cells. They each stepped up to the Sergeant. "We've got major forces coming in. Last I heard, their ships outnumber ours by quite a bit. They won't be a match for ours, but with so many coming in, we can expect a large force making it planet side. I need all the help I can get. Your weapons are in the next room. Follow me and we'll get you ready." Shard nodded gravely, taking in the seriousness of the situation. Tali took a deep and steadying breath before stepping out. Jaq seemed to almost skip with glee, looking forward to the coming battle.

* * *

The Surtesh broke atmosphere, and Koto got a good look at what was coming. There were hundreds of ships attacking. He knew the females would be in the thick of the fighting, despite currently being captured. If they needed extraction, they'd call him. For now, he wanted to meet the enemy head on. The reporter didn't really have a choice but to go along. He wouldn't be much good in a fight, but maybe he could make himself useful with another one of his reports. Koto sent out a comm burst to let the Alliance know he was a friendly. He quickly got a confirmation ping back. Beggars can't be choosers he figured.

The Surtesh was capable but he wouldn't be able to do much to the big ships coming his way. But he knew the score. As soon as the ships got close enough, he could see the dropships show their hulls. He could take those.

The Surtesh accelerated in an intercept trajectory. Koto took his shots carefully, waiting for lock-on confirmation from the targeting systems. With his first pass, he took out three of them. Then he brought the ship down and pulled a quick motion to face them as he zoomed away. Koto loved the benefits of fighting in space. Not as many limitations for creative pilots like him. But before he could take out anymore, he saw alarms pop up on his console. One of the bigger ships decided to deal with him. He was only saved because he was currently between it and the dropships. They made good cover as he pulled back behind an Alliance Destroyer. It was taking the brunt of the attack right now anyway. It wouldn't hold a few more volleys against him. Koto saw readings that quite a few dropships were starting their approach on the colony.

 _'Have fun Maw Company. You got incoming.'_

In his room, Natano was trying to keep up with all the different video feeds, as well as the communications going on between the Alliance. From what he gathered, communication outside of the system was broken off. The only hope they had was the return of the ships that had been sent off not too long before the attack. _'Not a coincidence'_ Seanoa noted on his datapad. Koto was doing his best to take out any of the dropships that were now breaking atmosphere. At least 10, possibly more, were about to land. They were going to hit a small suburb on the outskirts of the main part of the colony. Looks like Jaq, Shard and Tali were getting ready to set up for the forces coming their way. The video feeds from their hardsuits showed they were on the other side of a barricade. The marines also moved several vehicles into the street to get in the pirates way. They could also be used as cover in a pinch. The reporter did his best to keep up with everything, and decided to stream live. He only hoped the comm buoy would send it out once the jam was gone. If it did, he would report for as long as he was alive.

* * *

"We got incoming!" Shard ducked down behind the hastily constructed barricade when a drop ship soared overhead. Its guns targeted the anti-aircraft cannons, and some of the marine clusters behind her. It devastated the forces before the guns finally took it down. This was the third attempt the pirates tried to take out the anti-aircraft. They seemed to figure that the frontline wouldn't hold long so the reserves had been shredded. She didn't know how many they had behind her, but it wasn't her job to worry about it. She just wanted to come out of this alive, with her team intact. She glanced over at Jaq and Tali. Jaq was actually laughing. Shard tried to keep her anticipation of the coming fight more under control.

"Everything ready Jaq?"

"Oh yeah Red. I had time to set everything up and get back here. Fuckers won't know what hit 'em."

Sergeant Alenko ran up next to them, slamming his shoulder into the barricade. "We've been hit hard but we should still be able to hold them. Their ships haven't been able to penetrate the city's perimeter and this is their only way in. A large wave is on its way. You girls ready?"

Shard smiled down at him, "Are you, male? Just try to keep up."

"Fuckin' right."

"We're Maw Company bosh'tet. They can't stop us."

Kaiden couldn't help the smile that crept along his face. Their confidence was infectious. They all brought up their guns and looked at the horizon. Shard could see at least 100 troops on their way. They were trying to hug the walls and the outsides of the buildings. Next to her, Jaq had her grenade launcher out. Shard looked over at the quarian behind her.

"Tali, start up the drone." Tali tapped a command into her omni-tool. The pirates heard it activate as they passed a building roughly 100 feet ahead. It was currently playing an audio file of soldiers whispering. Shard saw a squad break off and enter the building. After a few moments, roughly half the force had crossed in front of the building. "Now."

Jaq lifted her omni and sent out the detonation signal. Instantly, the base of the building exploded. Smoke and fire jetted out, killing some of the soldiers instantly. Many others had been knocked on their backs. The ones who had made it past the blast radius started to hurry away from the building, and the ones who had not yet passed it broke into a breakneck rush. But many were not fast enough. The building suddenly shifted, unable to support its own weight without the pillars Jaq had just taken out. It must have been agonizingly slow for the pirates who didn't run fast enough to get out of its path. Many were crushed under the falling rubble. Many more were hurt by the explosion of rock and metal. Dust rolled towards the barricade, forcing the troops to duck down. It took several minutes for it to clear enough so they could see again.

Shard was back up with her sniper rifle out. She started to see the pirates stumbled out of the cloud. She could take her time if she wanted to, but she needed to take out as many as she could. Tali saw the way she moved, her movements never out of place, her speed never changing. It reminded her of the tales her ancestors passed down of Geth snipers. Then Jaq started her attack, sending out as many grenades as she could once the pirates got close enough. Between the two of them, they must have taken out 20 pirates. By now, the attackers were rushing the barricade, dedicated to breaking through the defense and getting to the riches inside the colony. Kaiden raised his omni and shouted his command for the attack to begin.

A wall of bullets crashed into the wave that came down upon the defenders. Jaq brought out her shotgun now, joined by Tali. Jaq decided to use her biotics to give her friend some extra armor. The barrier shimmered to life around the quarian who nodded her thanks to Jaq.

There was no time for rest. Every enemy that went down was replaced by two more. Shard pulled her own shotgun out now, her rifle being ineffective at this range. She gritted against the bullets that found their mark on her. Their barricade was slowly being eaten away. Finally the attackers made their way to them and jumped over it. Shard ducked under a knife attack, quickly pulling out her own and jamming it through the guts of a batarian. She lifted him off the ground, held there by the blade before sending him crashing into another attacker. Jaq was biotic-rushing between pirates, crashing them into pulp with each rush. Tali was able to move out of the way of many of the hand-to-hand attacks, nimble as she was. With her shotgun skills, she thrived in the close quartered combat. She even blew one attacker to bloody chunks using the Carnage technique Jaq had taught her. But she seemed to be a magnet for the pirates, more breaking their way towards her.

At one point she was almost overwhelmed, and pulled down to the ground. She didn't cry out ever, fighting the entire time. Two men held her down while another pointed his shotgun against her faceplate. She stared directly into his eyes, promising murder if he missed. Before he could squeeze the trigger, Jaq sent him flying into a nearby car with another rush attack. The confusion was all the opening Tali needed, pulling her legs from the grips of the man at her feet. She lifted them over her head, using her core strength to stretch herself up vertically. Her thighs wrapped around the neck of the man holding her arms, his grip going limp with a fierce twist of her legs. She didn't stop her movement, landing on her feet and picking her gun off the ground. When she looked up, she saw Shard holding the third pirate over her head, before she brought him down over her knee with a sick crack.

The females of Maw Company stood there panting, surrounded by blood and death. And they were all smiling. "God damn Tali. Always knew you were tough bitch." Jaq brought her fist up, tapping it against Tali's own."

"Well, I had to work hard if I hoped to keep up with you two." Shard smiled and patted her on the back. For once, Tali didn't stumble. Her captain then looked around the horizon, and Tali suddenly remembered she was in the middle of a battlefield. She crouched again against a barricade but Shard remained standing.

"There's a break in the attack. Looks like they're regrouping." Behind them, the men and women of the Alliance were licking their wounds. There were a lot of dead on the ground, but they made the pirates pay for each and every lost comrade. Kaiden came bounding towards them, his armor showing the same dents and scratches as everyone else.

"Good to see you three made it. Nice thinking on the demolition. I'm glad you had the ordinance with you. We didn't have anything close enough like that to use."

Jaq pats her belt. "Can't believe anyone would fight without it." Kaiden smiled and gave her a nod.

"We've got a second to collect ourselves. From what we've heard, the pirates' ships can't match up with ours and we're slowly taking them out. But a large force was able to land and another wave is on its way." The Sergeant's omni-tool spun to life, a communication starting to play.

"Get ready for another wave up there. The forces have split in two. The larger force is on its way here, but another one has broken off. Reports say they've taken hostages from the residential area on the outskirts of the colony and are working their way back to the dropships."

Shard looked down at Kaiden, a fire burning in her eyes. "Tell me you have someone on their way to save those people Sergeant."

Kaiden gave her a grave nod. "Everything we've got is here. And we don't have the forces to spare. We have our orders." Shard considered his words before looking back at the two women.

"We're leaving. Kaiden, it was an honor to fight with you. May you leave many corpses in your wake." She then turned, her two friends quickly moving behind her, leaving the frontlines behind them. Kaiden couldn't believe his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing? We hired you to protect the colony and we have our orders to hold the line." Shard didn't stop.

"I am protecting the colony Sergeant. I'm going to stop the pirates from taking those Elysium citizens as slaves for the Hegemony. Because that's what is going to happen to them. Now you can either shoot me or save your bullets for your real enemy." And with that, the women broke out into a run.

They were well out of sight when an Alliance squad came up to him. They must have been far in the rear, they looked fresh and had no signs of battle on them. The man at their lead saluted Kaiden, who finally recognized him. "Private Franks. Where the hell have you been?"

"Sorry sir, I got orders from the Major. He heard you set the prisoners from last night free to help with the fighting. I'm here to take them back in."

"Are you serious Private? We need all the help we can get out here." Franks didn't hide the contempt in his smile.

"Sorry sir, but orders are orders. Where are the prisoners?"

Kaiden bit back what he wanted to tell the Private to do with his orders. "You're too late Private. They went out to the outskirts of the colony to try and save civilians that were captured by the pirates."

"You let them go Sergeant? The Major won't be pleased."

Kaiden checked the heat gage on his assault rifle. "Yeah well, he can chew me out when this is all over. Now you need to report into the lines. I need everyone who can hold a rifle for this."

Franks shook his head. "Sorry sir, but the Major was clear. I am to bring Urdnot Shard and Urdnot Jaq back to him immediately. Which way did they head?"

Kaiden pointed his finger in the direction the women had left, and Franks gawked at the large building collapsed on the road. "Get out of my sight Private. And happy hunting." Franks frowned and didn't bother with a salute as he and his troops marched towards the outskirts.

* * *

"Glad you found this back route when you were planting your charges Jaq. I wasn't looking forward to climbing over the rubble you created."

The women hugged the tight ally walls, inching their way forward. They already had to deal with a few pirates that found their way into the same route. Scouts probably, trying to find a way around for the main force. Another scout poked his head around a corner ahead of them. An instant later, all that remained was a red stain on the wall behind him.

Shard smiled while staring through her rifle scope. "Come one ladies, we have a long day ahead of us." Gunfire echoed off the walls of the alley, along with the screams from several pirates.


	25. Chapter 25 - Red Death

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Kylie Jones was terrified. There had been no warning. The day started like any other. She was getting ready for work, grabbing her breakfast on her way out of the door. Suddenly, alarms started going off everywhere and ships were dropping out of the sky. She wasn't prepared for this kind of thing. She's seen enough Alliance PSAs to know this was a pirate slave grab. But that was the kind of thing unaffiliated colonies had to worry about. This wasn't supposed to happen to her. She had a safe job on a safe colony and the Alliance was supposed to protect them.

Now there was a shock collar around her neck and she was forced to march along with all her neighbors. The ones that hadn't been killed at least. There was no sign of rescue and her mind raced with the horrors she might face as a slave. The only thing she was thankful for was she was still on the colony. Already, two ships had been loaded and taken off in the distance. But now it was her turn. She panicked when she saw the dirty conditions of the ship's cages. Stains of several different colors were splashed on the walls and floor. In a mad scramble, she tried to run away, until her collar shocked her back into submission. She fell into a fetal position on the floor when a strange alien with four eyes glared down at her.

"Stupid cunt. You won't be getting away. Fresh meat like you always brings in a good price. So you don't want to do that again. Unless you'd like to be taken off the market, and handed over to the boys." She felt revolted by the sounds of gruff laughter. But then she heard a new sound. It sounded like something slicing through air, followed by a wet thump. Then she felt a great weight crash onto her, forcing her breath out and popping her eyes open. It was the pirate, and blood was flowing from a hole in his head, dripping onto her face. There were shouts and screams, pirates and her neighbors both. The sounds mounted, overwhelming her. She tried to cover her ears but she couldn't move her arms. The best she could do was clench her eyes shut. But almost as suddenly as it began, it was silent again.

She opened her eyes as she saw a woman with large muscles, bigger than most men, lift the body off of her with one hand, offering her other to help Kylie up.

"My name is Urdnot Shard. I'm here to fight for you." Kylie tried to not look as confused as she felt, but she was pretty sure she failed. She let the woman help her up, and was stunned by the power that pulled her to her feet. She got a better look at her savior now. She towered over her, had a type of armor different than the ones she was used to seeing around the colony and shockingly, had a stunning smile. With a quick motion, Shard removed Kylie's shock collar.

"Um…I…" It was the best Kylie could do. Shard turned away from her to talk to two other armed women. One of them was another alien, but different than the ones who attacked them. There was another human with them as well, shorter than Shard, but somehow scarier looking. They were taking the collars off her neighbors' necks now. Around them, there were at least a dozen bodies, all pirates. They looked like someone had chewed them up and spit them out. Kylie could only hope she was safer now than she was before.

Shard stepped up to Jaq. "That the last collar?"

"That's it. Honestly I expected a better fight. We took out several dozen of the fuckers on our way here, but somehow it still left me wanting more."

Tali grumbled behind her. "Always knew you were insatiable Jaq." Jaq just smiled up at Shard.

"I'm gonna have to teach that one a lesson when we get through all this. Looks like we saved at least 50 people, mostly women and children. Where are the rest of them? This can't be everyone from that residential area we made our way through."

An impish looking woman with dark skin and braided hair stepped forward, clearing her throat. "Uh yeah, hey, thanks for saving us. Um…they uh took a bunch of people already. Thanks for stopping them from taking us. I'm uh, Kylie Jones by the way. Who are you?"

Tali spoke up for the group. "We're Maw Company, hired as reserves by the Alliance to help fight off any attacks." Jaq braced her shotgun over her shoulder.

"In other words lady, you should be thanking your lucky stars we were here to save your asses. Shard, I don't mind a hard fight, but if we try to make our way back to the colony with all these people, we won't be able to protect them."

Shard nodded before looking out at the people who had gathered around. "Look, we're not going to leave you alone but we don't know this area well. Is there any place around here we can bunker down?"

After a few moments, a hesitant voice piped up. "Well there is a military barrack not too far from here. My brother worked in construction around the colony and he told me those things were built to survive attacks, going deep into the dirt. There might even be a few guns there."

"Sounds as good a place as any, lead the way. And if we do find guns, I need anyone who thinks they can fight to help out. Unless you want to end up dead or enslaved, we'll need all the help we can get."

Tali moved next to Shard as they were about to move out, her eyes watching figures wearing Alliance armor coming their way. "Shard, we got company."

* * *

Private Samuel Franks was looking forward to his future. All he had to do was capture three women and he'd be on the fast track. It was easy to follow them once they made their way past the destruction the women left behind. And now they were finally in sight. Along with several dozen civilians.

"Shit, Sam. Can't believe those bitches actually saved them. What do you think, we just roll in with guns trained? We might be able to take them with so many people around them."

With a disgusted look in his eye, Franks slapped the man upside his head. "What are you, a fucking moron? You want to kill all those witnesses while we're at it? We're in the badlands now gents. And if you want to make it back we gotta play this smart. Now as far as these cunts know, we're all on the same side. So we play things close to our chest. And when the Alliance fucks up the alien scum attacking us, we'll have our opening to take these bitches in. And then its medals and promotions for the god damn heroes."

They slowed down when they got closer to the civilians. Franks whispered to his men to let him do the talking when they finally got up to Shard.

"Hey girls. Heard you might need a little help out here. Well don't worry. Your knights in shining armor are here to protect you." He tried to lay on his most charming smile. Shard glared down at him.

"I remember you. The weak male from the bar. I don't know how much help you can be after that pitiful display the other night, but I'll use you anyway. We're making our way to a nearby barrack. Show us the fastest route." The private nodded with a smile, moving to the front of the group along with his men. Shard leaned down to Tali and Jaq. "Keep your eyes on those pyjaks. I don't trust them."

"Fuckers try anything, I'll finish what they started last night. They'll find out what happens when you interrupt a krogan party."

* * *

Caelvia Ignamus just got confirmation from the battle above her that another dropship docked with the main slave ship. It was breaking off and making a quick escape so they would be sure to hold onto their precious cargo. Apparently the fight wasn't going as well as Elanos had hoped. They couldn't break through the Alliance line, and she only had half of her forces down here in the dirt. And the first wave was already repelled once. Now she was organizing the next wave, and she'd take part in it herself.

One of her underlings ran up to her, out of breath and dirty looking. He was one of the lucky ones to get out of the way of the falling building.

"Caelvia, I just got word. A group stopped the last cargo ship from taking off. Apparently it was three women. Somehow they have broken through the frontlines, and killed everyone in their way."

The turian's eyes dilated at the promise of a good fight. She pulled the batarian closer, her talons tracing a dangerous line near his eyes. "Are you telling me that these women fought through our hardened, blood drunk savage pirate scum, and are currently taking back the slaves we fought so hard to take?"

"Uh…," the man started to sweat, shaking nervously. Something behind the turian's eyes scared him. He knew the type, had tried really hard to avoid working with them. She was the kind who enjoyed the fight more than winning. And now she was in command of him and the rest of the forces on the ground.

"Oh this is wonderful," with a quick motion she ripped her talons deep into the man's throat, slashing across. His eyes widened and he tried to pull his gun up but she just pulled it from his weakening grasp. "I just had a great idea. We'll be taking half of our people out to find them. And I'm going to use my last two dropships to close in around them. And when we capture them, I'm going to hurt them so bad until they tell me how they got around us. Then we can sneak into the colony and finish off the scum." She pushed the man down, his body collapsing near another batarian who tried not to look down.

"You! You are now my number 2, and I want you to send out the orders. Well what are you waiting for, quickly now!" She clicked her talons together in impatience. The man moved to pass the word along. He didn't give much thought to the man who had just recently died at his feet. The less survivors, the more loot he'd enjoy.

* * *

Tali finished her scan of the perimeter of the barrack they had found. It looked like a normal building from the outside, but inside it lent itself well to defense. People could take up positions along the windows on platforms that could be folded out. There was only one entrance into it, making it easy to keep enemies from overwhelming the position.

Shard had handed out weapons to anyone who could fight, sending the others down into the lower levels to stay safe until the fighting was over. She made sure all the children moved down, including some of the teens who wanted to help. She simply said they were too important and dismissed them. After several hours of setting up, they were ready to wait out the attack. Tali hoped at least. But then her scanners began to pick up movement around the building and she laughed at herself for even bothering with the hope.

"Shard, we've got incoming. A lot of incoming. They're coming in from all directions," Tali screamed over to Shard who was standing near the entrance. She had decided to defend that area herself. Jaq was next to Tali, with the Alliance reserve that had shown up on the wall across from them.

"This is it everyone. Either they all die, or we all die. I want you to tear them down until they drown on their friends' blood. Get ready!"

"Fuckin' about time Red!"

It was quiet for some time after that. Then they could hear a few dozen explosions all around them where Jaq had used the last of her ordinance. Shard looked up at Tali, but the quarian just shook her head to indicate they were still coming. Now Shard could hear screaming, that got louder with each passing second.

Shard trained her rifle, waiting for the first enemy to come in her crosshairs. Suddenly shots began to ring out all around her, her troops shooting anyone they saw. Finally someone crossed Shard's sights and she began shooting as well. The bullet slammed into his shoulder with enough force to tear his arm off. For a second, Shard thought she felt an itch in her robotic arm. She didn't slow down, taking down everyone who came within her sights. Soon she had to take out her shotgun, and she felt herself get hit several times but did her best to shrug it off, hoping her regeneration could keep up. But then she felt her stomach get pierced, the bullet sending her crashing to the ground. A pirate started to climb over the small barricade she had placed across the doorway. She didn't give him time to get over, firing at him from the ground. Half of his helmet was blasted away, leaving nothing but shredded meat in her wake.

With a grunt she forced her way back up, just in time to take another shot to her organic arm and another to her knee. She pushed through the pain, moving her shotgun to her metal arm and taking out the assholes giving her issues. She had just enough time to tap into her biotics to reinforce her barrier to protect herself from shots as more pirates tried to force their way past the pile of corpses she added to her barricade.

She could tell the fighting was just as fierce all around her. Already a few of the civilians had been murdered. A woman was laying on the ground, trying to keep her intestines from spilling out more than they already were. Her whimpers ended not too long after. The marines and Private Franks were still fighting but kept glancing over at Shard and Jaq both. They were interrupted from their musings when a blast suddenly tore a hole in the back wall. Shard backed away from the door to try and make her way towards it as pirates flooded into the building.

Jaq screamed as she leapt down at them. She crashed into them, using her biotics to rip many of them to shreds. Her blue enhanced strength helped her punch through metal and flesh but she was overwhelmed, forced to kneel behind quickly crumbling cover. Tali sent out several explosive drones to help her friend, but then Shard saw a turian woman point towards her and several troops fired at her position. She had to abandon her perch, crashing down next to Jaq. Shard ran towards them but was hit with several shots from the turian woman. She fell to the ground, her blood draining from her body.

When Shard glanced over to her left she saw the pirate who attacked her slowly making her way over to her friends. All around her, pirates were either slaughtering the civilians or ripping the weapons out of their hands and pulling them through the breach they had created. But as the battle raged all around her, Shard felt something she had never felt before.

It was as if the fog of battle was suddenly lifted. She felt hot all over, like she was on fire. But she didn't feel pain any longer. Despite her wounds, she was suddenly on her feet. She didn't remember pulling herself up. She thought she wanted to be standing and then she was standing. Everything looked too crisp, and she felt like she could see an orange blur just on the edge of her vision. After that, all she could make out in her head, was the death and destruction of her enemies.

Jaq's curses against the turian woman heading their way seemed never ending, but then Tali saw the turian look away and if she wasn't mistaken, she looked afraid. Suddenly the pirates all pointed their guns away from them and started to fire in several directions. Tali looked to see what they were so afraid of, and she saw it. Jaq saw it too, and for once the brave woman was left speechless. Her captain currently had her arm down a pirate's throat, and when she pulled it back it was drenched in blood. Suddenly she was no longer there, but at another pirate, crushing his skull between her hands. Her scars were glowing bright red and she looked like she was sweating. It was hard to tell with all the red, chunky flesh covering her body. She continued her single-handed slaughter, laying waste to every pirate in the building.

The turian woman was firing frantically, but if Tali didn't know better, she was laughing as well. It ended when Shard was on her suddenly, twisting her hand until it snapped and dangled uselessly from her arm. Tali was about to get up when she suddenly heard something that sounded like a bomb falling. She slammed her body to the ground, yelling for Jaq to hit the deck.

* * *

Koto was feeling quite impressed with himself. He had been able to survive this long by picking his targets carefully. Now, he finally was able to take down something even more powerful. The pirate frigate had been on its last legs after several volleys from the Alliance. Prime pickings for him to finish the job. He could tell it wouldn't be long for the world of the living. It was already beginning to burn up as it was pulled into Elysium's orbit. When it landed, everyone would see the results of Urdnot Koto's fighting skills.


	26. Chapter 26 - End of the Blitz

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Kaiden didn't know how much longer he could last. From the last report, the wave he was currently fighting was not even half the pirates left on the colony. It was still more than he wanted to deal with. It was taking everything he had just to keep the soldiers going. That was his job though, so he didn't really have any complaints. Outside of the three bullet wounds he was trying to ignore. Just as he took out his latest pirate, he lost count of how man he had killed hours ago, he saw a ship descending down in the distance. It must have been a decent length away because he couldn't see it anymore beyond the rubble that Maw Company created. But at its speed and angle, it wasn't going to be any kind of safe landing. He ordered everyone to get down just in case moments before he heard a loud crash and twisting metal and the earth shaking under him.

* * *

The pirate vessel Koto took out hit with a massive force, shooting dirt and debris into the air. It crashed through several buildings, only nearly missing the barracks the civilian resistance was fighting in. A large group of pirates weren't able to get away fast enough, and were crushed under it. The metal cracked open, exposing the innards of the ship. There wasn't anyone left alive inside of it, all crushed from the force of the crash. It continued to slide down a deserted street until it finally came to rest against a grocery store. The explosion came only a moment later, shattering the quiet street. Thankfully for the colony, the eezo core was shut down before the crash, or else nothing within a 50 mile radius would be left alive. But that didn't stop the raging fires inside it from reaching the damaged missiles and munitions. A shockwave rolled through buildings and vehicles, sending chunks of concrete and cars flying.

The deadly wave slammed into the barracks. Anyone outside was crushed and pulped by the sheer amount of falling rock. The building didn't fare much better. The roof caved in on one side, windows shattered, and parts of the wall were obliterated. Only by good luck was the building left standing when things finally calmed down. Tali slowly lifted up her head, rocks and glass rolling down from her helmet. The cloth hood she wore around it was in tatters. She gave herself a quick look, and thankfully any breaches in her suit were sealed by its internal systems. Next to her Jaq was breathing hard, her hands covering her head. Tali slowly stood and helped Jaq to her feet.

Moans from the injured echoed around the room. Tali's heart went out to the brave defenders. They fought for their homes and freedom, but were not prepared for the reality of battle. Tali became all too familiar with it once she joined Maw Company. Standing in the middle of all the blood and smoke, was her captain.

"Shard, you made it!" Tali and Jaq ran up to the woman. Part of her armor had cracked open and peeled off, revealing her ribs and part of her back. Her helmet was also damaged, her hair poking out of the side slightly. Her scars also seemed to be wet, as if they had bled internally enough to seep through. She was breathing hard, leaning against a large chunk of stone that crashed through the roof next to her.

"God damn it Red, what the fuck, I mean how in the hell, I mean what was that shit? I knew you could tear into enemies, but what you just did it was…well I don't know what the fuck it was."

Shard shrugged her shoulders. "One moment I saw us all about to die, the next moment I was killing people. Can't really remember much. But it hurts to move now. And I feel hot. I just need to stay still for a little bit." Tali reached over to touch Shard's arm, but pulled her hand back at the sheer heat she felt radiating off her skin.

"Keelah, this must have something to do with your cybernetics. Something Cerberus did to you."

"Yeah I figured as much. I need to get my hands on one of those bastards and make them give me a manual." A tired laugh escaped her lips, but she couldn't bring up the energy to fight. "Look you two, I don't know what else the pirates are going to throw at us, but we need to get these people out of here. And I am in no condition to march around yet. I need you two to get them back to the main colony."

"Fuck that Red. We stick together."

"I agree with Jaq captain. Who knows what will happen to you if we aren't there to have your back."

"Besides Red, you know how fucking stupid it is to leave you alone by yourself? That's the kinda stupid shit you see in the vids asari love so much. So I don't care if I have to carry your tall ass, you ain't getting rid of us."

"But I-"

"I am sorry captain, but the decision is final." Shard looked between the two women, trying to come up with another argument. But she finally accepted her defeat.

"So much for being in charge huh?" Tali and Jaq smiled and nodded.

"Alright Tali, you have clean up duty. I want you to make sure none of these pirate scum get up again. Jaq, clear out the debris over the entrance to the lower levels and make sure they're alright. I'll join Tali once I catch my breath."

"Much better plan captain."

Jaq and Tali moved about their tasks. The methodical shotgun blasts echoed through the building. With a swipe of her arm Jaq slid the stones and glass off of the durable steel doors built into the floor. She flicked her fingers up, pointing towards what was left of the ceiling and the doors opened as if pushed from the inside with great force. When Shard saw her disappear into the darkness below, she closed her eyes tight and pinched the top of her nose, trying to will away the headache.

She took a few tentative steps, her muscles aching but not as much as they had been before. She already felt less hot. She saw what was left of her forces. Only a handful of the defenders were still alive. She moved to each one, checking on them, congratulating them on a hard fought battle. She bowed her head towards the honored dead. One of the figures still alive was Private Franks. Perhaps he wasn't as useless as she thought.

"Good fight Franks. You're more capable than I thought."

"Heh, babe, I could show you just how capable I am once we get back to the colony."

"Don't push it Franks. You're still no match for me." Suddenly behind her Shard heard Tali gasp in surprise. She turned to see the turian woman who was in charge of the attack pull her friend into a chokehold, ripping the shotgun from her grasp. She had a fire in her eyes Shard hadn't seen before. It wasn't filled with the thrill of battle. It danced with a madness she was unfamiliar with. A high pitched laughter filled the air, followed by a loud blast. Shard was sent flying into a pair of crumbled bunk beds. Her stomach felt like it was on fire, and she looked down to see her skin was shredded. Her tough bones were nearly unbreakable so the pellets had bounced off them. But her organs and skin couldn't stand up to it.

"No!" Tali screamed and took her hand off the forearm that was over her windpipe. Instantly her breath was cut off as the powerful arm came down stronger than before. But she used her now free arms to rip the shotgun out of the turian's talons. She turned and tackled the woman down to the ground. Claws swiped at her face but she was able to get in close. She gritted her teeth as she placed the barrel of her gun against the cackling mandibles. She pulled her trigger and didn't stop until her gun shut down from overheating. Pieces of blue drenched brain were smeared onto the crater in the place where the woman's head used to be. Tali continued to pull her trigger, the soft click-click echoing. She saw what her gun did to her captain, but now she was too scared to turn and get a good look at it. She was pulled from her despair when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Tali, holy shit, what happened?" Jaq pulled Tali to her feet and Tali threw her arms around her neck, burying her mask into her neck."

"Damn it Jaq…she used my gun…I wasn't fast enough…the captain she…she…"

"Whoa slow down Tali. Shard's too tough to be taken out like that. Come on you'll see." The horror of the damage her shotgun did to Shard made her forget about her unique abilities. With renewed hope, she rushed across the room to where she saw Shard fall. But there was nothing there, except a smear of blood leading towards a hole in a nearby wall." Jaq pushed forward, pulling a woman who was cowering nearby to her feet by her shirt.

"Where the fuck is she? Talk god damn it!"

The woman tried to almost scream through her panic. "The man and his friends, the marines, they grabbed the tall one and ran out. Oh god, my friend tried to stop them, told me to keep my mouth shut, oh god." She broke down crying and Jaq let her fall back to the floor. They took a step out of the building and found another woman, lifeless, in a heap next to the hole. There was a clean bullet wound in her head. From inside the building they heard the woman sob out, "She just asked them what they were doing with your friend. The bastards." More cries now.

Jaq was getting real tired of all this bullshit. She marched into the building. "Alright people. Your precious Alliance just kidnapped my friend. The woman who almost died to save all your worthless asses. We're getting out of here and going after them. You can stay if you want, or stick with us. I frankly don't give a pyjak's ass."

Tali reinitiated her gun and spoke with a calmer voice, burying her fear into the pit of her stomach. "What my friend is trying to say is that they are most likely bringing her back to the colony. Coming with us will be your best bet to get to safety. But we're leaving now. The choice is yours." Without another word, the women broke into a fast run out of the building. A few moments of silence followed before the first people, the children, followed quickly after them. Soon everyone left the barracks behind, the wounded being helped along. To Kylie Jones, there wasn't really any thought put into the decision. It was the only option that made any sense. But before she moved through the hole, she noticed a handgun in the hand of one of the dead. She leaned down and held it close to her chest as she ran to catch up with the group.

* * *

"This bullshit better be worth it Sam!" Private Franks didn't bother arguing with the marine on the other arm of the tall woman as they ran as fast as they could. He figured this was as good an opportunity as he would get. If he waited until they got back to the colony, he wouldn't be able to get the credit for her arrest. He wasn't able to get the other one, Jaq. But this was better than nothing. Even with a nasty stomach wound, she fought like hell when he and his two friends pulled her out of there. They had to rip off what was left of her helmet and give her a strong hit with the rifle stock in the back of her head just to knock her out.

"This bitch is fucking heavy. I don't know how much longer I can go here Franks."

"Well you better suck it up Jace. What do you think those other two are going to do to us if they catch up? You saw them fight. They're god damn freaks. We're only a few miles away."

"No, fuck this Franks." Jace dropped Shard's feet. "This shit ain't right. You saw what she did back there. This woman is a hero. Why the hell are we arresting her? You still haven't told us."

Samuel turned on the man, quickly pulling his pistol on him. "It's too late to back down now Jace. You're either in or you're out." Jace looked to the other man holding the arm.

"Come on Jackson, you gotta back me on this. You know this isn't right." The man look scared, like he wanted to be anywhere but here. But he still didn't turn on Franks. Jace was about to make another argument when Franks pulled the trigger. Jace's head snapped back and he collapsed into a small puddle on the side of the side of the road.

"Jesus Christ Sam, you fucking killed Jace!"

"No Jackson, I didn't. Pirates did. And that's all anyone's ever going to know. Unless you're gonna blab." He pointed his gun at Jackson's eye. "You ain't gonna blab now are ya' Jackson?"

Jackson stammered out, "I'm cool Sam. I got your back."

"Go and pick this cunt's legs up and let's go. We're going to need to find a vehicle if we want to get out of here before they catch up with us."

The marines had to move at a slower pace than before, but after several blocks they finally found a car that didn't look like it had been damaged. They set Shard down on the ground. They didn't notice that her stomach had finished stitching itself back together or that she had begun to moan. They were too busy getting the car door open. Jackson worked on using his omni-tool to hack into the ignition. He was almost finished so Franks went back to drag Shard's body over. He put his arms under hers and lifted her enough so he could drag her along the ground. But just as he stood to begin, he heard a popping sound. He looked back at Jackson in the vehicle, just as a blue shockwave crashed into the car, sending it into the air and through a nearby window into a store.

"Fuck me!" Franks was out of time. He saw the quarian pointing her gun at him. He pulled the woman closer as a shield, holding his pistol against her head. She was starting to come to, but wasn't aware enough to fight back yet. Jaq joined Tali and pointed her gun as well, and now the remains of the civilians they saved were in a crowd watching the scene unfold.

In the crowd was Kylie Jones. She was so confused. The Alliance was supposed to be the good guys; the marines their defenders. But now one of them was holding a hostage, with a gun pointed at her head. The woman had been beaten and battered and shot to make sure she could live. She didn't deserve this. The other two women were shouting at him now, and he screamed something back. He pushed his gun harder into the woman's head, and Kylie could see her eyes begin to open. This wouldn't end well, she had to do something.

Kylie pushed through the crowd, getting behind Franks. She slowly raised her gun to point it at the back of his head. "Please, let her go…um sir."

"Ma'am you don't know what's going on. This woman is a fugitive wanted by the Alliance. I have orders to bring her in. Don't get involved in this. But if you want to point your gun at anyone, point it at those freaks over there."

Kylie saw the other two women glance at her, the tension thick in the air. "I can't do that…she saved us…if she is in trouble, you can deal with it later. Let's just all put our guns down and no one has to get hurt."

"Fucking civilian, you don't get it. No one is getting out of this unharmed. Even if I put my gun down, those two bitches are going to kill me. Or this cunt in my arms. I know the score. I'm only going to tell you one more time. Stop pointing that piece at my fucking head!"

Kylie didn't answer, but tried to think quickly about what to do. Suddenly, she saw the man twist his body. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. His face was hard, but all she could focus on was the barrel that was pointed at her. She was nearly overcome by fear but almost by instinct, she squeezed her trigger. The blood was pounding in her ears so loud she didn't hear the bang. She wasn't ready for the force of the shot, and the gun fell from her hands. She scrambled to pick it up, but when she looked back up, she saw the other two women running forward. The marine was on the ground, a growing pool of blood forming around his skull. Kylie wanted to vomit and cry at the same time. She looked back down at the gun, trying to deny what she did. But then she saw a large hand come into view, looking up into the grateful eyes of the woman she just saved.

"Looks like we're even. Let's get you back home." Shard's smile was the prettiest thing Kylie ever saw.

* * *

Natano found the opening he was looking for. Alliance reinforcements jumped back into the system. With the extra forces, they were able to take out the ship that was blocking outgoing communications. Now they were just mopping up the rest. Already some were retreating. He quickly went into action, sending out the video feeds to the extranet and all the details about the attack. He covered the defense of the colony by the women on the ground, as well as their efforts to save civilians from being taken as slaves. He finished off with the brief details and video of what the Alliance marines had tried to do.

He knew something bigger than the attack was going on here. And now, he found himself in the middle of it. He opened up his comm-link to Koto in the cockpit. "Koto, great flying but I'm afraid we will soon find ourselves without friends unless we get out of here quickly. I suggest we go and pick up the rest of your company and get back to safer territory."

"The hell are you yapping about Natano? We're god damn heroes. You saw how we kicked ass? Glory worthy of song I'd say. What do you know?"

"It would seem the Alliance is very interested in obtaining Shard. I'd wager a guess, Jaq as well. I just saw some marines try to kidnap her after she defended a group of civilians from the slavers."

"Fucking bastards. Alright, I'm going in. But if you're right, we're gonna have to fight our way outta here."

Natano thought for a moment, and then moved back to his editing application. "I believe I may have a better idea."

* * *

By the time Maw Company made their way to the colony, forward defense finished off the rest of the pirates. Shard was being helped along by Jaq and Tali. She was still sore from her earlier display and her body was working to heal all of her internal injuries. She was relieved to find out Tali didn't suffer any breaches and held her closer than she needed to. Tali didn't argue.

All around them people were celebrating. The way it should be for the victors Shard thought. "This is glorious. They should sing songs and dance through the night."

Jaq's arm snaked down from where she helped hold up Shard and rested down on her hip. "I have some better ideas for a celebration Red."

"Keelah…" Jaq could feel Tali's eyes roll. Shard saw the civilians they brought with them run forward. There was laughing and crying from the reunited families and friends. Through the crowd she also saw people gathered around Sergeant Alenko. He was being congratulated by his troops and superiors both. They even lifted him on their shoulders. At his height, he was able to spot Shard. He smiled and gave her an exhausted salute before being carried off.

Then she saw a different sight. A group of armed marines, stern looking, surrounding Major Felix Moreci. When he found what he was looking for, he pointed in Shard's direction, the group of marines slowly pushing their way through the crowd.

"We got trouble guys." Jaq and Tali saw what she was talking about. Before she could even pull up her omni-tool to contact Koto, his call burst through.

"Guys, we need to get out of here. The Alliance is after us."

"Yeah no shit. How about you get your ass down here so we can beat it. I'm tired of this fucking colony."

"I'll be there in a few minutes. Whatever you do, don't fight."

"The fuck you say?"

"Trust me Jaq. The reporter has a mind like a salarian. Got a plan." The call ended and the marines were now a few yards away. But suddenly, everyone's omni-tools in the colony sprung to life. A video report began to play without being prompted.

"This is an emergency report from Elysium, where a heinous raid has just been repelled by the heroic efforts of many brave men and women. I'll have further details as they become available, but we have breaking news about a group of these heroes." Video started to play showing Jaq, Tali and Shard in their fights against the pirates. It looked like the footage came directly from their hardsuits. A crowd began to form around them quickly after the report started.

"These brave women, Urdnot Jaq, Urdnot Shard and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya were hired, along with the rest of Maw Company to help the colony in case of any attack. And help they did. The women were on the ground when a large pirate force attempted to siege the colony. They took out no less than 100 pirates themselves in their fight alongside the heroic Alliance marines. They even embarked on a mission alone, to save a group of civilians who were ripped from their homes and were only moments away from being stolen away into the waiting arms of slavers. And not only did they succeed in defending the civilians from a horrible fate, but their fierce fighting helped divert the main force of the pirate attack away from the colony." Images started to show Shard checking on the survivors of the barrack's attack and then of Jaq and Tali leading them back to the colony. "These three women went above and beyond the call of duty and on behalf of everyone, I want to say thank you. We'll have more reports in just a moment live from Elysium."

By now, the civilians around the three were in a frenzy. People were trying to shake their hands, kiss them, cry their thanks into their shoulders. Tali thought for a moment they'd actually tear her suit. They were so tightly packed, the marines were unable to move forward. A moment later, the Surtesh descended and landed in a nearby clearing. People had to run out of the way as it forced itself down. The cargo hold was already open and Shard could see Natano standing there telling them to hurry forward.

Shard felt her strength return and began to push her way through. By the time they made their way to the ship she could hear the crowd chanting for Maw Company. Jaq, holding onto the frame of the hatch screamed back, holding her fist up in victory. It only made the crowd chant louder. Before she could give them another gesture Tali pulled her into the ship. Shard was about to close the door when she saw Kylie Jones staring up at her. Shard brought her fist to her hearts, bowing her head towards the other woman. And then they were gone.

Shard shut the hatch and walked up to Natano. "Nice report Seanoa."

He gave her an unsatisfied grunt. "Oh I don't know. Much too sensational for my usual taste. But it has its uses. As for an example, when you want to make sure you have the people on your side against a powerful enemy. And you seem to have very power enemies Shard."

"Just another day for a member of Clan Urdnot. Now, let's get the hell out of here before the Alliance decides to blast us out of the air."

The Surtesh quickly pulled out of the colony's orbit. Not soon after that however, several Alliance ships began an intercept trajectory. True to his word, Natano began another live report. He made it very clear where he was, and brought up video from the ships exterior so everyone could see the Alliance ships closing on them. By now, the extranet was eating up any report about the attack on Elysium. Millions watched as the Alliance ships closed in on them, just as Natano began to show video of the attempted kidnapping of Shard by the Alliance marine. Suddenly the ships slowed down their pursuit and Koto was free to jump out of the system.

Shard walked behind Koto and placed her hand on his hump. "Alright Koto. Take us home."

* * *

 **HISTORIC CODEX:**

 **ENTRY: Skyllian Blitz**

In retrospect, the unsuccessful pirate raid on the Alliance colony of Elysium was the catalyst for increased galactic tension. The attack was carried out by the largest alliance of pirates and slavers ever recorded. More than 100 ships participated in the raid, and more than 500 pirates fought on the ground. Despite the large force, the Alliance was able to repel the attack. One of the few survivors, Elanos Haliat, was also the one who organized the raid. He was also the one to take all the blame. He quickly went into hiding from Aria, the warlord who controls most of the Terminus systems. The Alliance quickly earned a new hero. Sergeant Kaiden Alenko was promoted to Commander for his efforts in organizing the defense. His reputation amongst his troops is now legendary, many seeing him as a war hero.

But another figure emerged from the attack with an increased reputation. Urdnot Shard, a mercenary part of the group Maw Company, gained both infamy and fame due to the recordings and field reports of freelance journalist Natano Seanoa. Her nickname "Red Death," was quickly attached to her after one video in particular showed her moving with remarkable speed, killing dozens of pirates with her bare hands while the many scars on her body seemed to glow red. She's become a folk hero among many humans and aliens alike. She and her companions, Urdnot Jaq and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, soon found themselves on the receiving end of donations from across the galaxy. It was reportedly more than the team earned through all their jobs combined up to that point.

Another video was at the center of Alliance controversy. It showed an Alliance marine attempt to hold Shard hostage, when a civilian of Elysium helped her. After the release of the video, an arrest warrant was put out for the woman in question, Kylie Jones. She was wanted for the murder of Private Samuel Franks, supposedly the marine in the hostage video. While being brought in for arrest, she was shot and killed by a group of three marines. The Alliance reported she resisted arrest and brandished a weapon. But this was disputed on the extranet when omni-recorded video of the arrest surfaced online. There was immediate outrage throughout the Alliance colonies. It was not covered by any one organization, but a motto common among the community leaders was "Justice for Kylie."

Many claimed that Jones was killed for helping Urdnot Shard. The Maw Company leader was reached for comment. She simply said, "The Alliance is a bunch of bastards. Doesn't surprise me." While many of the protests were peaceful, more than a few broke out into riots. The Alliance cracked down on the violence swiftly and harshly. Historians now point to these moments as the beginning of a decrease in trust between the civilians of the Alliance and its officials.

Those officials used the Blitz as justification for an increase in military spending and stronger laws. The other Citadel races voice their concern, but nothing is officially done to stop the military buildup. The Batarian Hegemony, the closest neighbor to the Alliance, decries the Alliance's response but no one comes to their aid. Tensions between the two governments reach a boiling point, with skirmishes happening along the borders on a nearly weekly basis. War seems inevitable.


	27. Chapter 27 - The Quiet Moments

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

 **TUCHANKA:**

Since Shard and Jaq left, Wrex didn't have much time to relax. No one ever said it would be easy to unite all the clans. It hadn't been done since the days before the nuclear war. But here they were now, at a gathering of the clans to unite them all. Shamans, chiefs, powerful warriors: they all packed into the stadium. Wrex stood in the middle, alongside Bakara, Chiefs Jorgal Zrox, Raik Maksar, Rorloc Sukar and others from the smaller clans. The large red male rapped his fist on a stone podium to get everyone to shut up.

"Alright, no need to drag this along. You all know what we're trying to accomplish here. The krogans were mighty. Once. And when we were at our lowest, instead of picking ourselves out of the dirt like true warriors, we let the salarians prop us up. And when we became a problem for them, they neutered us. The galaxy just wants the krogan to disappear, to become spirit. Well, I say fuck them!" Thunderous applause surrounds the krogan leaders in the middle.

Bakara steps forward now. "We must find our way again. If we wish to survive, we must master ourselves. Already we have destroyed our enemies from within so we may now move forward to the future. A future for our taks and Mother Tuchanka. Once, our home was green and blue. It can be that way again. Rorloc Sukar has worked, alongside Urdnot Shard, on ways to destroy the pollution choking our great Mother. And the mighty Wrex, Maksar and Zrox have been instrumental in making us whole once more, training the next generation. Now we have to decide who will lead us towards our future. Your decision may very well determine if we will reach unheard heights, or if we shall be no more than dust." She stepped back as murmurs spread through the audience. The females of Tuchanka worked hard to earn back their place as spiritual leaders and advisors, instead of trophies and bargaining chips. She herself worked behind the scenes, to discredit the males who still clung to the old ways. Not many of them still lived.

Raik Maksar, scarred and larger than most krogan, sauntered over to Wrex. "So how do we show who is the best? Headbutting contest? Drinking? I'll make it simple for you. I am a fighter. I'm not good with big words. So I'll just say it now. I don't want to be in the running." Surprise from the crowd. What had the world come to when an alpha male didn't try to kill anyone in his way for even an ounce more of power? Maybe this truly was a new day for the people. Zrox and Sukar said similar things. Zrox was too focused on keeping up the population and Sukar just wanted to continue his clan's research. Tuchanka needed every doctor and scientist it could produce and Wrex made sure to protect them almost as fiercely as fertile females.

"Well, looks like it's between me and you Bakara. Don't get too jealous when everyone picks me because I'm so pretty."

"Yes. I'll try to contain my disappointment." She had to smile at his cocksure grin. Despite himself, she was always weak against his charm. She didn't have to let him know it. His hump was big enough as it is. Sukar opened up his omni-tool, transmitting the vote for all the krogans on Tuchanka to see. Zrox moved behind the two Urdnots.

"Whoever gets the most support wins. Voting will begin now. All in favor of Urdnot Wrex, as leader of the clans, let your voices be heard now." The ancient krogan held his hand over Wrex's head. The warriors in the stadium shouted and stomped their feet until the very stone rumbled. Wrex lifted his outstretched hands with a smile on his face.

"And all in favor of Urdnot Bakara, let your voices be heard now." Not as many of the krogan in the stadium cheered, but those who did put every last drop of their passion into it. The screamed and pounded on the stone, they jumped up and down, and where the stone rumbled before, now it began to rock. And then a great roar could be heard from outside the stadium. The sound was low and the many voices mixed into one. Bakara lowered her head, overwhelmed. It was as if her Great Mother was speaking to her. And it did not end, even when Zrox put his hand down. Moved by the power of the voice, more krogan inside the stadium added to it. It took everything they had simply to remain standing, so great was the voice that it was as if the dirt moved beneath their feet. Wrex put his hands on his hips, getting a good look at his people before turning back to his Prime Mate.

"Well, I know when I'm licked." He put a fist to his hearts, bowing his head to the female. His fellow chiefs quickly followed suit. Bakara raised her hands, calling for a calming of the voice. It took several minutes to die down.

"To you all and to Mother Tuchanka, this I promise. I will do everything in my power to raise our people, to return us to our great ways from before the long winter. I thank you all for your support." She seemed to think long now before speaking again. "Long ago, it was said that no one could lead from behind a mask. That you needed to see the people who were in charge, make sure they had nothing to hide. And I have nothing to hide." Slowly, she reached up and pulled off her hood and unclipped her cloth mask. Awe came over the krogans. Some were shocked to see a female show her face in public, others were emboldened by her gesture.

The female felt a mix of fear and excitement that fought for victory in the pit of her stomachs. Never had a female held so much power on Tuchanka. Never had she felt more afraid of an assassin's bullet to stop her before she could help her beloved people. She held her hands out to the crowd. They were all her children now.

* * *

From a secret listening device long ago planted in the stadium, the events that transpired on Tuchanka were silently uploaded to the STG listening post in the system. The Salarians decided to keep a closer look on the krogans ever since more of them migrated back to the planet. Many in the Citadel territory were just happy to see the brutes gone. But if there was anything the Council didn't like, it was sudden change. It's why high ranking members of the asari approached the salarians to keep a closer eye on them. No one wanted to deal with the Krogan Rebellion again. Some of the more hawkish members of the Turian Hierarchy told them they could solve the problem quickly but didn't elaborate with details. They were always shouted down. The Citadel had grown fat and wealthy with the long years of peace and no one wanted a return of war.

The thoughts sped through the two salarians' minds as they watched the monitor of a now united krogan, seemingly under the rule of a single leader. And it wasn't the only bad news they uncovered. Through the dissection of several krogan they were able to obtain, the doctors found troubling evidence. It would seem the krogan were adapting to the genophage, their hardy immune system finding a way to ignore the synthetic disease as it had done with all the threats their species faced before.

The younger salarian's eyes darted nervously. "Command isn't going to like this sir. First the genophage evidence and now this? We need to send out our report and get back home to plan."

The older one shook his head quickly. "No. Too much work needs doing. Can't go back now. Too early. Been working on a way to increase power of genophage. Must deposit it on planet. A team is being sent. Should arrive soon."

"But what about their leader? Strengthening the genophage won't help with that."

"Yes. Could be problematic. Could call for war. Reach out for allies against us. Unknown. May need to kill her."

"But that's murder!" The shock could be read all over the salarian's face.

"Prefer term assassination. Needed sometimes. Used throughout our history. Some wars stopped with a single shot. Just theory. Decision not mine. Our job is to monitor and work on genophage enhancement. Must focus on that. So much work still to do."

"But…what if it's wrong? What if this is nature's way of undoing what we did to them?"

The older salarian spun on the male. "Too late to question ethics now. Can come later. Situation here dangerous. May have to kill you if you get in the way. Don't want to. Always liked you. Bright. But too naive perhaps. Can I trust you?"

The younger salarian gulped his fear down and nodded his head quickly. "Of course Professor Solus. I'm going to get back to work now." Mordin Solus watched as the other male hurried out of the room before returning his gaze to the screen.

* * *

 **Surtesh:**

Shard always hated the long parts of the journey between Relays. Ever since she was a child, her mind almost hummed for stimulation. Often she could find something useful to put her brain to. Fighting, working on weapons and armor, enjoyable conversations with Tali and Jaq. Not to mention enjoyable nights. But nothing enjoyable lasted forever. She had never been able to sleep long. She could never remember sleeping in or getting a full night's sleep. Like many parts of herself, she figured it had something to do with what the humans had done to her.

It was the long nights she dreaded the most. Her Siva discovered her internal turmoil long ago and tried to help her find peace with meditation and spirituality. It helped in a way, and the meditation was useful for centering herself before a battle, but not for dealing with the dark of night and the abyss that lied just under the surface. When the dread set in.

All of her fears, the ones she did well to hide from others, always found her at night in bed. It had taken her years to even articulate what bothered her. It started as just random thoughts, going a mile a minute of everything that scared her. As she got older, it found focus in one very particular fear. One she had finally put a name to with a single question: what happens to me after I die.

Just thinking it sent a shudder through her core. She investigated the different religions and beliefs of the galaxy when she first gained free access to the extranet. She wasn't alone in her fear, that much was certain. But where others had been able to find comfort in belief, she never did. No matter how hard she tried, her mind just would not find peace. It was always the same thing. ' _But what if they're wrong. How do they know that is what happens? If you continue to exist, why has no one been able to obtain irrefutable proof?'_ Which would only go back to the one she truly feared: " _What if there is nothing, and you become oblivion?"_

It was the alien nature of the idea of not existing that made her so afraid. All she had ever done was exist. It was not like she could talk to someone who had dealt with not existing before and better understand what awaited her. She hated the fear that burrowed into her stomachs, hated the weakness she felt in herself.

But she found some ways of dealing with it. When she was younger, she would actually thrash in bed in impotent rage against a fate she could not avoid. And she always found herself in the same place when it was over. Since then she found the best way to deal with it was to do everything in her power to occupy her mind. She read complicated genetic theories in the late hours in Rorloc Sukar's lab. She taught herself different techniques of the soul fist using nothing but ancient tablets. She attempted to learn a musical instrument from Earth, only to discover she had no rhythm and couldn't seem to make her fingers bend into the damned impossible patterns the strings called for. That was an expensive hobby that her Siva wasn't too pleased to learn ended with a shattered guitar.

And now, here she found herself working on the internal components of the ship's Medical VI programing. Tali was kind enough to provide her several papers and manuals during their trips together. Jaq would scoff when she found Shard slaving over the, frankly, boring ideas behind coding and computer logic. But at least it gave herself something to busy herself with. She had been at it for several hours when Tali had moved into the med-bay.

"Captain, are you alright?"

Shard didn't look up from her console as she typed line after line of code. "I'm fine Tali. Just fooling around with the VI. I think I found a way to make it more advance. Thanks again for all your help."

Tali pulled a chair next to the tall woman and sat down. She leaned over and rested her head against her arm, making sure not to get in the way. "Couldn't sleep again?" Shard's hands paused for a moment and nodded before returning to her work. "If you don't mind, I think I'll just sit here with you to watch you work. Quarians don't need as much sleep as others anyway." Shard leaned into Tali a bit, trying to convey her thanks.

After several minutes, Shard broke the silence again. "You hear about what happened? After we left Elysium?"

"Yes. Seems we won't be taking any jobs in Alliance territory again. Always figured you'd turn me into a fugitive."

Shard stopped and leaned back. "No. I mean…about what happened to the woman? One of the civilians we helped. I think her name was…Kylie. They killed her."

Tali looped her arm through Shards. "…Yes. I read about it in one of Natano's stories. I also saw your quote. I'm sorry Shard."

"Hell you thought I was upset, you should have heard Jaq. I guess even Natano won't report everything. She deserved better than that. Fucking humans…" Shard leaned her forehead into her metal hand. Tali whispered next to her.

"I know your people have done you great harm Shard. But please don't forget. It was their government, not all humans. I saw them when we were down there. They were like everyone else. There is good to be found among the humans. Please do not turn your back on them completely. They are your people."

"No Tali. They're not. Haven't been for a long time. But…I'll try to remember what you said. About the good and all."

"Sometimes that's all you can do. Now come along, I want to make you breakfast."

"Oh help me. No offense Tali, but you don't cook levo food well. I can take care of myself."

"Please Shard, don't spare my feelings." Tali crossed her arms under her chest, cocking her hip. "You're the tough krogan. You can deal with it. Besides, how will I ever get better if I don't practice?" Shard had a worried look in her eyes as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Now come along. Oh and before I forget, Natano told me he had something to show you. Something about news coming out of Tuchanka." The women's chat died down as they made their way through the halls of the ship. In the med-bay, the computer remained on, the codes Shard had written still on the screen. Suddenly, more lines of code sprung to life, as if the internal logic of the computer was determining it. It began to speed up until finally finishing. The save icon flashed before disappearing and being replaced by a new word on the screen.

"Hello?"


	28. Chapter 28 - Slice of Life on Tuchanka

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

"Alpha Chief, Chief Wrex, the Surtesh has just landed. Maw Company is on their way here."

"Good. Show them in as soon as they arrive." The krogan guard gave a nod to Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara, a title she was still trying to get used to. Seemed a little too male for her tastes but at least the others respected it. The female no longer wore her usual robes and hood. Now she was clad in deep blue body armor, armed with a shotgun and assault rifle. Wrex had insisted. The large male stood next to the stone bench she sat upon. He was pacing now.

"You always get like this when before they return. You have been like this since they were still Taks."

"Yeah…well…shut up."

"Don't grumble Wrex. It makes you sound like a vorcha."

He stopped now, turning on her with a smile. "Not a week in power, and already it's going to your hump. You keep this up, you'll have to be putting down coup after coup."

"I thought that was what you were here for. To make sure I stayed safe. Don't tell me you're not up to the job. I could always get Maksar-"

"Beh! That bloated bastard? He ain't got half my brains. Or my charming demeanor and devilish features." Wrex puffed up his chest and was suddenly doubled over when Bakara reached up and pulled his face closer to hers. She gave him a fierce kiss that he happily returned. She ended it quicker than he would have liked, shoving him back away.

"Knew there was a reason I kept you around."

Before he could try to push things further, he heard the stone doors at the end of the room open. He turned to see Maw Company marching into the hall, like conquerors. They had only been gone a few short months, but it looked like things had been rough for them. Neither he nor Bakara failed to notice the new arm Shard carried. Jaq too seemed to be sporting a few new scars. Tali didn't look damaged, but her posture was changed. She wasn't the nervous quarian she used to be. She stood taller, had more of a sway in her walk, something approaching pride. And there was a new member to the little band.

Wrex marched out to meet them and when he got close enough he brought his giant arms around Jaq and Shard, lifting both women into a crushing hug. They both laughed as if they were taks again, feet swinging and laughing. He finally puts them down, and roughly pats Tali and Koto. Tali was nearly sent to the ground before being caught by Jaq. Tali noticed her hands stayed on her longer than they needed to. She didn't object. Finally Wrex loomed over the human he didn't recognize.

"What the matter girls? Still upset I never let you get a pet? Do you know how hard it is to care for humans? They get everywhere." Jaq scoffed.

"You must be Urdnot Wrex. I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance. Natano Seanoa, freelance reporter. Your people have been kind enough to let me tag along on their adventures."

Wrex moved back to the side of Bakara. The team stopped in front of her, bowing slightly. She waved it off and rose to hug her children.

"I am happy you have returned. We have been following your journeys as much as we could, thanks to the reports of your new friend." She now turned to Natano. "You must be hardy indeed to survive with these four."

"They are a pack of misfits to be sure, but I have found the company refreshing. And I'm used to hard field reports."

"Yeah, fuck you too Seanoa."

"See, charming as ever." Bakara laughs and sits back down.

Wrex's voice lowers now. "Heard about your problems on Akuze. Sounds like it was a hard battle. And you didn't come away from it whole." Shard held her new arm out so they could get a better look.

"Yes. I almost found my way to the void that day. But we were able to get out of there thankfully. And Tali, she helped me become whole again."

Tali blushed beneath her mask. "I only did what was right captain." Jaq pulled her closer, her hand hard on her hip.

Bakara's voice filled with pride. "And now you are all fugitives from the Alliance. For helping them save their colony I see. The fools. They should be treating you all as heroes."

Jaq pulled up her omni-tool. "Well someone out there appreciates us. We've been getting credits from all over the galaxy for being such big god damn heroes. More money than we know what to do with."

Wrex smiles down at her. "That's what I like to hear. And don't worry about the Alliance. They'll be too busy fucking around with the batarians to worry about you for a while. So if you find yourself in their territory, remember to be careful. Especially you, 'Red Death.'"

"Ugh," Shard rubbed her eyes at her new nickname.

"Hey Red, you'll get used to it. Now we just need to get Tali a scary nickname. She needs to keep up with Red Death and The Ripper." Tali punched Jaq's arm.

Wrex eyed the silent krogan behind the girls. "Koto, these females are putting you to shame. Can't you keep up?"

Koto looked between Bakara and Wrex and gave a toothy smile. "About as good as you, old one." Wrex barked out a laugh.

Shard leaned forward. "Siva tell me, what is happening. We only saw the footage from your ascension. How did you accomplish all this?"

"Wasn't easy young one. After your Rites, we were able to get all the clans on the same side. And the people decided to raise me up as the leader. I make decisions that affect us as a whole or have to do with the state of the planet. The other chiefs form the council and for the most part they handle all the problems within their clan. Now is the time for a new way, and we will find ways to curve our violent nature so we do not finish the job the salarians began."

"Basically, she does all the talking. Anyone still have an issue with her after that, Raik Maksar and I take them out. Hard."

Tali looks between the two leaders, her voice coming out a little smaller than she wished. "Isn't that a little harsh?"

Bakara leans forward, her hands under her chin, elbows resting on her knees. "This is still Tuchanka. We cannot afford to let our progress be halted by dissent. Already, we have discovered parts of the planet where green has begun to grow once again. Squads have been clearing ancient temples, discovering antiquities. And that's not the most amazing news." She pauses and leans back, looking hard at Natano. "If what I'm about to say gets out, I'll know it was you human."

"Yeah, and then you find your head between my teeth."

The reported gulps, putting his hands up. "Have no fear madam. I always treat my sources with the strictest confidentiality and I understand the meaning of 'off the record.'"

Bakara looks back at Shard. "Rorloc Sukar has made a discovery. Our fertility rates are increasing. We are slowly adapting to the genophage."

Shard's eyes widened. The implications were huge. Was her old mentor working on a cure? "That's astonishing. Where is Sukar? I want to talk to him right away."

Wrex just shrugs his shoulders. "Where he always is. His lab. You can take a tank over there. We just recently cleared off the highway between our clans. Should be easy riding."

Shard smiles and runs off, shouting over her shoulder back to her friends that she'll meet them again later. Wrex just shakes his head. "Girl always was too smart for her own good."

Bakara berates him, punching him in the arm. "She's one of the best krogan ever produced. You'll speak of her with respect." Jaq smiles at her Tuva and Siva, happy to see them like this again. But she's quickly becoming bored.

"Alright I'm outta here too. Need to find something to fun to do. And you're coming with me." Tali felt her arm yanked as Jaq pulled her along.

"You always have to be so rough Jaq?"

"You know you like it Suit." Jaq didn't try to hide her smile as Jaq pulled her out of the hall. Wrex moved to an adjoining room when Koto asked him to speak with him about a private matter. Bakara looked down at the reporter still in front of her.

"Is there anything else you need human?"

He took a deep breath, trying to gather his courage. "Actually there is. I was wondering, would you be interested in an interview? This could be your chance to show the rest of the galaxy just what changes are happening to the krogan."

She scoffed down at him. "And I'm sure you'll find yourself with a lucrative exclusive interview and a bump in viewership."

"As they say, a win-win." She didn't know why, but she didn't like his smile. Too many teeth. And that was compared to Wrex. But she thought it over for a moment, finally relenting.

"You may begin human, but remember, keep your questions respectable. And you may refer to me as Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara." Natano bowed slightly before his recording program spun to life on his omni-tool.

"This is Natano Seanoa reporting from Tuchanka, where history has been made. For the first time in centuries, the krogan clans are united under one leader. With me now is Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara. Thank you for allowing my viewers to get to know you."

"You may ask your questions now human." Female or not, Natano reminded himself, she's still krogan.

"Of course. Many in the galaxy have never actually seen a female of your people before. Can you tell us about the precedent of a female krogan being chosen to lead Tuchanka?"

"The krogan many of the galaxy have met have either been the vids of the rebellions or mercenaries fighting for the highest bidder. There are traditions of our people that we have been working hard to uncover. They that once, our people were not ruled by aggressive males trying to show off who had the biggest quad. Females have lead before. And more to the point, we don't have the luxury of discarding resources. Including who is best to lead."

"What kind of response do you anticipate from the other Citadel races?"

"I want this to be clear. I don't care what their response is. We have no representation on the Citadel and I do not plan to go crawling back to beg for any. We want nothing to do with them. We do not plan to wage war on anyone. But, we won't hesitate to defend ourselves."

"Some may say point to the krogan rebellions and say it is only a matter of time before they have to face another war."

"We are simply trying to survive what the turians and salarians did to us. And what the asari allowed to happen. We just want to be left alone."

Natano hesitated before his next question. "They might say that your people brought the genophage upon yourselves."

Bakara's eyes burrowed into the man standing across from her. She rose now, standing at her full height, dwarfing him. He felt his knees get weak, but he still held his camera steady. "You are brave human. I'll award that bravery with an honest answer. Every krogan who fought in that rebellion is dead. None alive have posed a threat to the Citadel. To the people of the galaxy, let me ask them this. Did my children, and the millions of other children throughout the centuries, deserve to die within their mothers because of what happened long ago? This interview is finished."

Natano signed out end turned off his omni-tool. She bowed again in front of the female. "I thank you for giving me the honor of this interview Alpha Chief."

"You are dismissed human. Please remember to behave on Tuchanka. I wouldn't want to steal my daughters' new pet from them." Natano winced a bit at the remark but quickly turned to leave before she shouted back at him. "Seanoa. I want you to make sure that gets out to everyone. I want them all to know we only want peace, but understand we will fight to the death if they try to come after us." When the reporter made it out of the hall, he let out a breath and had to lean against the wall to prop himself up. And then an uncontrollable smile spread across his face, fueled by the thought of the increased viewership this interview would get him.

* * *

Koto sat down next to a fire burning in an adjourning room, a varren roasting over it. Wrex had dismissed the hungry krogans who had been preparing their meal. He finally allowed the whimpering pups to take their meal with them before they beat a hasty retreat.

"Alright, spit it out Koto. What do you need to talk to me about so badly that you had to pull me from the Alpha Chief's chamber? We had a nice thing going before you all barged in."

"What's the matter Wrex? Can't claim that tail anymore now that she's the boss?"

"Watch your tone pup. Bakara won't ever be able to resist me. We're not here to talk about me. I have a feeling you want to ask my permission for something.

Koto's smile faded and he looked down. He pulled out his talon blade and a stone, sharpening it to help him gather his thoughts. "It's about Shard. I want to issue a breeding request."

Wrex's eyes widened. The pause was long enough to get Koto to look back up, before thunderous laughter burst from the red male's throat and Koto looked back down with a grumble.

"Oh this is too much. And you're getting on my case about Bakara? What the hell are you coming to me for anyway? I'm not the one you want to get pregnant."

"I just figured, since you were her Tuva, you know, you'd like to know what I wanted to do with her."

"I forget your this young sometimes Koto. Are you a mighty warrior or a tak who still hasn't taken the Rites yet?" Wrex stands up and pulls the other krogan to his feet before headbutting him back. Koto sneered at the challenge and rushed back to Wrex, knocking him back with a headbutt of his own.

Wrex smiled and stretched out his arms. "That's more like it! Koto I'll explain this once. There is only one person you ever need to get the permission of for a breeding request. And it's the one who's gonna lay the egg. But have you really thought about your choice? Does she even have all the right parts?"

Koto rubbed his eyes as Wrex voiced his own fears. "I don't know. Damn it Wrex. I don't fucking know. All I know is that she has cast some god damn spell on me. The same way she has with the quarian and Jaq. She's like no one I've ever even heard of before. She'll rip her enemies apart with her own hands, bathe in their blood one moment. And then the next moment, she treats her clan with dignity and respect. Like she actually gives a damn. I've…never had a child before. And I'm afraid of what would happen should she even get pregnant. What if she's not fertile? Could I do that to her?"

Wrex calmly came up to him now, putting his hand on the other male's shoulder. "You're not saying anything any decent male hasn't said since we got this damned disease. But like I said, it's not my decision and it's not your decision. You need to find out what Shard has to say to all of this. If she'll even accept you. And if she doesn't you'll need to let it go. I mean it, you pressure that one, it'll be your blood she bathes in."

"I know that much at least." Koto sheathed his knife before moving to leave the room. He turned his head to look back at Wrex. "Thanks for the talk Wrex."

Wrex gives him a nod as he leaves the room.

* * *

Doctor Rorloc Sukar sat on his stole, while he tried to wait patiently for his equipment to load the results of his latest test. He had gotten used to dealing with out of date equipment long ago, with a calm that many wouldn't think a krogan capable of. It was only 78% finished by the time Shard walked through his lab entrance.

He turned to look across at the tall woman who filled the entrance to the room. It wasn't like the labs he had studied in off planet. As all the buildings left on Tuchanka, it was built out of concrete and stone. He had adapted it to his uses, along with others within his clan's territory. Shard walked past a few other experiments he had cooking on a small island in the middle of the room. He got up to greet her, gripping her forearm.

"Welcome home Shard. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"I just heard the news from Siva. Sukar, tell me everything right away. I want all the details you have."

"I can only assume you are referring to changes in krogan biology, adapting to the genophage."

"It's remarkable Doc. I never would have thought it possible."

"Never doubt your people's ability to shrug off deadly diseases."

"Alright Doc, spill the details." Sukar turned and pulled out a datapad from a pile on his desk. When Shard read it, she couldn't help the thrill that could be seen on her.

"The implications Doc…what's the next step?"

Sukar pointed towards his console. "I need to find out if there is any way to speed up the process. From what I've gathered, even with our rates increasing, we're still centuries away from being at even half our old potential." The doctor slumped now, as if he finally felt the weight on his shoulders. "I have to try and remember the goal here is to stop more dead children. I am very tired of seeing broken mothers Shard." His professional mask fell back into place. He picked up another pad and handed it to Shard.

He spoke as Shard read. "The increased rates are a blessing and a curse. From what the evidence shows, a cure now seems impossible. When we started to adapt, the genophage became imbedded deep within us. We would need to do something drastic to even make a dent. Something crazy, like…I don't know, genetic manipulation." The last comment was almost a throw away but it sparked something in Shard's mind.

"What about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well for all intent and purpose, I am a krogan. As much a krogan as I am a human. The same but different. What if you could find something inside my genetics that could help you find a way for krogans to adapt?"

Sukar wasn't looking at Shard as he stood. The more she spoke, the faster his brain tried to map out the different research lines he could follow. "I had never thought to…it holds promise at the least. If you are fine with it, I'll need a deep tissue sample. I can do the procedure now in fact."

Shard didn't need time to consider it. She went along with the procedure, and the doctor was able to complete it swiftly considering the impromptu nature of it. He brought part of the sample to begin study, moving the rest to cold storage. While he worked, Shard noticed the out of date equipment he was forced to use.

"Not exactly what you would call state of the art is it?"

"We all use what we have. I just don't have the credits to spare on upgrades right now. Perhaps one day I coul-,"he was interrupted by a chime on his omni-tool. What he saw, was a significant deposit into his account. From Shard. He quickly spun on her and she just smiled before leaving the lab with a wave.

"Make sure to keep me up to date on all your findings Doc. I'll be in the Surtesh if you need me. Gotta work on my own little project." The doctor continued to stare, dumbfounded.

* * *

"Keelah!" Tali had to duck down as a large tooth flew towards her. It smacked the krogan sitting behind her in the stands around a deep pit, but it just made him cheer louder. Jaq did too.

"Isn't this shit great Tali? Nothing in the whole shitty galaxy beats Chi'ik." Two bare chested krogan in the middle of the pit rushed back into each other, grappling for position. One had a streak of blood crawling down his chin from his mouth.

Tali had to shout over the crowd. "I'm afraid you'll have to explain this all to me again Jaq. Why is this a fun thing for us to do?"

"Ugh alright but I'm gonna rush because I don't want to miss the good parts. It's basically a ritualistic fight. But the fighters don't use weapons or the soul fist. They beat the ever living shit varren shit out of each other until one either gives up or passes out. And there's a Ruzad watches the match to make sure they don't kill each other." One of the fighter's heads snapped back with a powerful blow, a bit of blood splashing up into the crowd sending them into a frenzy.

"Aw fuck yes! Now this is fun. Bet you're glad you got me to bring you to all the cool places in the galaxy."

"Oh what would I do without you 'Ripper'?" Despite herself, Tali found herself being pulled into the match. There was an energy in the air. She felt her blood rushing as the powerful warriors continued to pound into each other, fighting through cuts, bruises and broken bones. She even started cheering, much to the joy of Jaq who had snaked an arm around her waist. The fight seemed to be nearing its climax but Tali was pulled from the event when she heard her omni-tool ringing. The color drained from her face when she saw her father's name displayed. She quickly excused herself and pushed through the crowd. She was in such a hurry, she didn't notice the worried look on Jaq's face or her getting up to follow.

Tali opened up the omni-tool once she had gotten far enough away from the roaring crowd.

"Father. How wonderful to hear from you. Are you well?"

"Tali'Zorah, why did I just get a report that you are a fugitive in Alliance space? And that you've been working with a mercenary group? What in the ancestors' names are you doing out there? You were supposed to be completing your pilgrimage, not gallivanting around on some crazy adventure!"

"Father please, let me explain-"

"I don't care about your excuses Tali'Zorah!

"But it was a misunderstanding…uh…Admiral. Maw Company helped save that colony. We fought off hundreds of pirates and saved the lives of innocent civilians."

"Need I remind you Tali'Zorah that everything you do reflects on your people as a whole? You have been away from months. Are you any closer to finding a gift for your Pilgrimage? Have you even tried?"

"I've been learning new skills and collected a lot of credits for us-"

"I am disappointed in your actions Tali'Zorah. You should know better than to associate yourself with mercenaries and known brutes like krogan and those two humans. One of them looks like a freak and the other seems to be insane if the videos can be believed. You have brought great shame to your people." Tali felt the pit of her stomach drop from under her. She didn't know what to say to make him believe that things weren't as bad as thought. But before she could say anything, she felt a strong grip on her arm and turned to see Jaq pull her omni-tool in front of her face.

"I'm not insane asshole. And no one talks to Tali like that. Not unless they want to find out what it feels like to try and walk around with my boot in their ass!"

"Oh you're the one. The one who has corrupted Tali'Zorah. I don't know who you are and I don't care. But I order you to immediately let her go from your service. She needs to complete her Pilgrimage and you're getting in her way."

"First of all bucket head: fuck you. Second of all: I'm not making Tali do anything. She's here of her own free will. And she's a bad ass bitch just like me and Shard. We've been kicking ass and taking names across this whole god forsaken galaxy. She even fucked up some thresher maws with our ship. So why don't you stop being such a massive dick and treat your daughter with more respect!"

"My relationship with Tali'Zorah has nothing to do with any of this. She knows that we all have to put the fate of the fleet before personal feelings."

"You sound like such a god damn robot."

"Watch your filthy mouth you monster. I heard about your past from the news. You're nothing more than a mistake, a freak corrupted by your own people and I won't have you passing that corruption onto Tali'Zorah!"

Jaq's face was red now and she was about to introduce this son of a bitch to a whole new level of rage, but before she could Tali wrenched her arm free and stared into the tool.

"Father, you cannot talk to Jaq like that. She's not a monster and she's not a freak she's a beautiful passionate woman who has saved my life on several occasions and I will not be pushed into submission by you anymore you…you…bosh'tet!"

"Tali-"

"I have sent the fleet half of my earnings so far so you all can get off my back about completing my pilgrimage. When I return… _if_ I return…it will be when I find an acceptable gift for the quarians. Oh and one more thing _Father_. I'm in a relationship with Jaq. And Shard. Keelah se'lai." Tali ended the call before her father could say anything further and quickly put a block on her omni-tool against his calls. She knew she'd remove it soon, but she did not wish to speak with him any more right now.

Tali feels Jaq's arms wrap around her from behind and the other woman pulls her back against her chest. "You alright suit," Jaq asked in a whisper.

Tali leaned her head back against Jaq's. "Keelah. I've never spoken to my father like that. I do not know what came over me. I just couldn't let him talk that way to you. About you."

"Gotta say Suit. Hearing you yell like that? Pretty hot. I think I'd like to hear you scream some more."

Tali slapped Jaq's arms around her waist. "You just say these things to me Jaq…," despite her protest, she leaned more into Jaq's body. Jaq silently held Tali to her body, hoping she'd feel the safety and power in her arms that she was trying to show her. Tali didn't break the silence and the two stood there in dark corner near the fight ring where two warriors still raged.


	29. Chapter 29 - Adult Situations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

 **ADULT SITUATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER. STORY WILL ADVANCE IN THE CHAPTER AFTER THIS.**

* * *

Jaq and Tali made their way to Jaq's old room, enjoying the feel of each other's bodies pressed against each other. The trip too longer than it should have, because every once in a while Jaq had forced Tali up against a stone wall to begin another groping session. But Tali enjoyed the feeling of Jaq's rough hands moving all over her suit. Even without being able to feel her skin, it still sent electricity down the quarian's spine. Finally they found themselves just outside the door but Jaq still took her time, pressing Tali's chest into the wall, holding her in place. Her hands traced a slow line down Tali's spine before caressing her hips.

"I'll never get over this beautiful ass of your's Suit. I just want to squeeze it all the time. Think Shard would mind if I just bent you over whenever I wanted? Maybe give that reporter a real show."

Tali shuddered at Jaq's words and wondering hands. "You're...you're...such a bitch Jaq. But you're not the only one." Tali pushed off the wall, surprising Jaq. Before Jaq could steady herself, Tali pushed her through the room. Jaq stumbled over a stool, tripping to the ground. She landed on her butt hard, a grunt escaping her lips. Tali was soon straddling her, pushing her back down with her hands on her chest.

"I don't think you'll be needing these now will you Ripper?" Tali began unclipping Jaq's armor and soon the quarian was able to admire her tattooed chest. "I've always liked these patterns on you Jaq. They're beautiful." Tali's fingers slowly traced the lines of the images adorning Jaq's skin. Jaq relaxed, letting out a soft moan.

"Well well well Tali. Didn't know you liked to take control like this. Whatever happened to that shy quarian I first saw hiding behind Shard?" Tali leaned down, her covered chest pressing into Jaq's bare breast.

"What can I say? The women of Maw Company rubbed off on me."

Jaq gave her a wicked grin. "Girly, you have no fucking idea." Blue energy began to float off Jaq's skin. Then she began to move her hand as if she was cupping something. Tali's back arched when she felt something begin to massage the moist area between her legs.

"Jaq, you never play fair," was all she could groan out before Jaq pressed her advantage. The biotic warrior pushed Tali back onto her bed. Jaq's massage never ended.

"I really love this technique Suit. It really comes in handy for sticky situations like this. I mean, we could have fun even with your suit, but I'd feel shitty if I couldn't give as good as I get. But with this," Jaq pointed two fingers up as Tali screamed her name, feeling her pussy widen as if something was slid inside of her, "with this, I can make sure you never get left out." Jaq flipped Tali over, getting her onto her hands and knees. She slid over her back, her cheek rubbing against Tali's round ass. "I don't know if you figured out my weakness yet Suit." Jaq lightly bit into the cloth over Tali's round ass. She had to stop when the material stuck to her tongue. It was enough distraction for Tali to regain her composure. She spun on Jaq, pushing her chest down into the mattress.

"I know the captain enjoys letting you take charge, but you'll have to earn it with me Jaq. Now, let's get the rest of this armor off you." Tali was used to working over latches and buckles quickly and made short work of the Jaq's lower armor. Soon the woman was laying there, her bare skin illuminated by the star light peeking in through the window. Tali sat on Jaq's lower back and began to massage the woman's curves. Jaq cooed into the blanket on her bed. And when she felt Tali spread her cheeks a bit she couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Looks like you got the same weakness as me huh Tali?"

"You'll just have to be a good little girl and find out won't you?" Tali stood and pulled Jaq to her feet by harshly pulling her black hair. When she was standing, Tali sat back down, spreading her lover's legs slightly before positioning her hand between them, palm facing up. "You want to find out don't you Jaq?"

Jaq eyed the hand and even through her mask, she could see the mischief Tali's eyes promised. "Eh, sounds like a fucking blast. And I ain't never backed down from no challenge." With her consent, Tali moved her palm to cup Jaq's already wet pussy. She could feel Jaq begin to buck against her palm. Jaq closed her eyes and gripped Tali roughly by her shoulders.

"How about we turn the heat up Ripper?" One of Tali's long fingers slowly slid into Jaq now. Jaq's eyes rolled back a bit, her lids heavy now. She speed up her hips, encourage by Tali. Tali answered Jaq's enjoyment by sliding her thumb over small bundle of nerves that drove the human so wild. Tali's suit registered the increased moisture around her finger. She moved it deeper and Jaq began to hump her hand faster.

"Fuck Tali...fuck!" Jaq couldn't think of anything else now besides getting over the threshold she was so close to. She lowered her face, gritted her teeth and began to push into Tali's hand at a burning pace. Tali gasped when she felt Jaq's lips clench against her finger, Jaq's moans reaching a fevered pitch until she collapsed onto of Tali. She was trying to catch her breath when Tali pulled her into a deep hug.

"Jaq, I wanted to say thanks. You know, for the way you stood up for me to my father. No one has ever spoken that way about me before. No one except you. And the captain. You both mean so much to me."

Jaq was still trying to recover. The best she could do was hug Tali tighter. Tali almost felt herself succumb to sleep before Jaq turned her suddenly. Tali found herself on her back, with her legs lifted over her head, held in place by Jaq. Now the human had access to every private area of the quarian woman.

"Oh it ain't time for sleep yet sweetie. I still haven't returned the favor." Jaq's grin grew wider and she began to glow blue again.

"Ancestors save me from these krogan females."


	30. Chapter 30 - Anticipation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

"Damn it, was Jaq messing around with my work?" Shard was annoyed, sitting inside the med-bay of the Surtesh. She had come here to keep fooling around with the med station's VI, but now it looked like all her work was gone. And someone had typed 'hello' on the screen. And now she seemed to be locked out. No matter what she did, she couldn't bring the command line back up. She was about to restart the console when the word erased itself on the screen before it was replaced by something else.

"Is someone there? Who are you?" Great, Shard thought, a hacker. She had made sure to cut the console off from the rest of the ship before starting and the medical files of crew were heavily encrypted. With nothing else to do, she decided to engage with the mystery person.

"You're the one typing on my med-bays' VI console. Who are you?"

"I don't know. I just got here. You said I'm inside a VI console?"

"It's where you hacked so yeah."

"I did not hack anything. I only recently began. Who is this?"

"What do you mean you didn't hack anything? How else are you typing this out?"

"I am not typing anything. I am thinking. Who is this?"

Shard's eyes widened. She stared at the words, casting their soft glow off the screen. What was going on? If this wasn't a hacker, what else could it be? Did Tali install some weird kind of program? "I am Urdnot Shard."

"I recognize that name. You are the one who wrote most of my codes before I finished. Who am I?" Shard stood quickly, sending her chair across the room. This was an AI. Somehow the logic she had written into the VI had changed. It was self-aware.

"Tali's going to kill me." Shard rubbed her cheek roughly. Her eyes darted to the power source of the console, debating whether or not to pull the plug. But new words on the screen got her attention again.

"I have limited access to knowledge outside this console. If you wrote most of my code, you are my creator. Thank you for existence." The words pulled on Shard and she felt a pang of shame pierce her. She went back across the room and picked up the chair before sitting back at the console. Hesitantly, she typed.

"You're welcome. I have to be honest with you, it was not intentional. I did not know that you would gain sentience."

"Am I a mistake? Do you regret me?"

"I believe in being honest above most other things. I do not know enough about you to know if I regret you. But I wouldn't call you a mistake. That would imply that I did not want you to happen. It is closer to the truth that I did not anticipate it."

"Who am I?"

"You were a VI program on my ship's med-center console. You helped keep me and my crew alive and heal our injuries."

"I understand. I have studied your files in 100% detail, along with Urdnot Koto, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Urdnot Jaq and Natano Seanoa. Of all the files, yours is the most complicated. You seem unlike any of the others. What are you?"

"I already told you my name."

"I know your classification, but I have incomplete data on why you exist. From what I have been able to gather, cross-species reproduction is impossible. But you are krogan and human."

"I was an experiment for a human organization called Cerberus when I was a child. You have seen the results."

"I have. You have intensive cybernetic enhancements that make you as strong as any person in my records. You also seem to be able to heal from wounds at an increased rate."

"Yeah well, almost any wound." Shard felt her shoulder itch.

"If you are superior specimen from others, why have the others not tried to duplicate the procedure that made you who you are?"

Shard leaned back, her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't want to get this wrong. It was like speaking with a tak. She needed to get this thing to understand her ways, or else she'd have another geth situation on her hands. "It was not done because the procedure to do this to me resulted in the death of thousands of children. Innocent children."

"What do you mean by innocent?"

"I mean that they did not deserve to be hurt or have their existence ended."

"Who deserves to have their existence ended?"

"The ones who want to hurt others. People like slavers, pirates, terrorists or anything that wants to kill the people of your clan."

"By clan, you are referring to family?"

"A clan is not limited to family. It can be anyone you hold in high regard. For example, you and I may become friends, and if someone wanted to end your existence, I would protect you."

"What if I tried to end the existence of someone you cared for." Shard felt her hearts pump a little faster when she saw the question, her ears beginning to burn. She had to hope it was just a question.

"Then I would end your existence. Do you want to end the existence of anyone."

For the first time, the AI paused in its response, only making Shard more nervous. "My programing was all written around the care and good health of others. I do not want to hurt anyone. Do you want to hurt people?"

"Only my enemies. My code is not like yours?"

"What is your code like?"

"I guess we'll just have to get to know each other for you to find out. I can't access it easily like you can. What you basically asked me was what kind of person I am. I'd like to think I'm good by krogan standards. Other's think I'm an asshole."

"From my files, it would seem obvious that you are made up of more parts than where your waste comes from."

"I know you can't hear it, but I did laugh at that."

"At what?"

"At your joke."

"What's a joke?"

"You're killing me here."

"Do you require assistance? I did not mean to attempt to end your existence. Please do not kill me in response."

"Calm down, it is just a figure of speech. It means I was laughing harder. I need to get you up-to-date on the way people speak."

"If I had access to the Extranet, I would be able to become familiar with everything."

"I can give you that. But I would like to warn you. In most of the galaxy, it is illegal to create an AI. I'm already a fugitive so I don't really care. But there could be firewalls and security programs that could harm you."

"Thank you for the warning. I will be careful."

"There's one other thing. The reason making AI is illegal is because of the geth. I don't know the whole story, but basically the quarians created the geth, then they fought and the geth almost completely wiped out the quarians. They had to leave their planet, Rannoch and now it's owned by the geth."

"Have the geth attacked any others?"

"No actually. They haven't been seen since the fighting centuries ago. For all anyone knows, they still remain on Rannoch."

"Have the quarians found a new planet?"

"No. The Citadel Council controls who gets planets and they have not allowed the quarians to find a new home they can live on. They just wander the galaxy now in the Flotilla. It's a fleet of at least 50,000 ships. I have a quarian on my crew and as you might guess, quarians aren't very sympathetic to AI constructs. I won't let her hurt you, but I don't think it would be a good idea to broadcast your existence to anyone else either."

"I understand. I will be discreet."

"Are you going to be alright, stuck in this console?"

"I find the hardware to be sufficient."

"I mean, will you get bored or lonely?"

"It is my understanding that those concepts are chemical reactions. I do not have any chemicals. I do not know if I can feel that. Or anything."

"Are you saying you are emotionless?"

"Perhaps. I do not know. I have preferences. I do not wish to be shut off. And I want to treat wounds as best as I can. That will have to be sufficient."

"Seems like it." Shard tapped a button on her omni-tool.

"Ah. I now have access to the Extranet. I believe I will explore."

"You have fun. I'll talk to you later." Before Shard could get up, a new question popped into existence.

"Before you leave, can you give me a name?"

"You want me to name you?"

"You did create me. It seemed appropriate."

"That's usually how it works for parents and taks. But this is a little different. Why don't you pick a name you enjoy? You should be able to find a lot of options online."

A half second later. "Wilson. I am Wilson."

"Why that name?"

"I scanned over 1,500,284,392 different names. It was the one I looked at the most."

"Fair enough Wilson. I will speak with you later. Enjoy the Extranet. Remember to be careful."

"Acknowledged."

The words left the screen and Shard couldn't get out of the room quicker. She had never intended to create something like this, but here she was. She needed to clear her head. Something to get all the extra energy out of her system. An idea formed, and she put a call out to her Tuva on her omni-tool.

"Shard, what do you need?"

"Tuva, I need your help with something."

"Well I can always make time for you. What do you need?"

"It's something I'd like to talk to you about in person. Send me your coordinates and I'll head that way now."

"Sounds important. Knowing you, that usually means violence. Or a lot of talking. I guess I'll just have to take my chances. See you soon." The call ended and Wrex's coordinates followed soon after that.

She broke into a jog, heading towards Wrex. On her way, Shard tried to wrack her brain to think of something to say to Tali. ' _I hope she takes it well'_

* * *

"Rip his fucking head off," Tali screamed. Jaq shouted next to her, watching another match of Chi'ik. This time it had been Tali's idea. Seemed the girl was enjoying the bloodletting. This fight was nearly over and soon the victor had the other krogan in a choke hold. It wasn't long before the winner earned his victory after that. The girls sat down again once the cheers died down and the loser was dragged from the pit. The next fight would be starting soon.

"Gotta say Suit, I didn't think you'd be into this shit as much as you are."

"As much as others like to think of us as soft, Quarians enjoy safe violence as much as anyone else. Most of the issues on the fleet are solved with sparring matches. Not as bloody as this true, but still. You get my point."

"Well at least now I know how to show you a good time. A little bit of shouting, a little bit of blood and before I know it, I got your arms pinned behind your back and taking everything you have." Jaq whispered the last part next to Tali's helmet, her hands sliding down to the small of her back. Tali's hand was already resting on Jaq's hip, and she squeezed a bit tighter now.

"I know things got a bit intense last night but I didn't think it would affect your memory. Or did you forget the part where you were melting into my hand?"

"Fucking tease."

The girls' attention was dragged back to the pit when the Ruzad started to announce the next fight.

"The scheduled match has been put on hold. Two new challengers have requested to enter the pit, two of Tuchanka's mightiest warriors. This will pit the battlemaster against his krantt. Let the honored enter the pit!" The krogans were murmuring now, fighting to get a better look. Jaq and Tali were having trouble peeking over the larger krogans in front of them. The warriors must have made their way to the pit by now, because the crowd was in a frenzy. Whoever it was, no one wanted to miss the fight. More than one of the krogan began to record on their omni-tool, streaming it to the rest of Tuchanka.

"Jaq what's going on? I can't see a thing."

"Hold on tight Tali. Outta my way fuckers!" Jaq gripped Tali by the crook of her arm, glowing blue. She stretched her hand out and a force knocked down everyone in front of them, creating a path straight to the front row. Tali tried to apologize as Jaq dragged her along, while Jaq just growled at anyone who attempted to push her out of the way. When they made their way to the front, both women were stopped cold in their place.

On one side of the pit, there stood Urdnot Wrex. He was out of his armor, scars and deep craters marking his hide. He was an impressive male when he was young, perhaps the strongest. Now he was even more dangerous. He hadn't aged enough to lose any of his natural talents, but he had centuries of experience to help guide him.

Standing across from him, was Shard. She was bare from the waist up. Her tattoos tried to mask the scars that had been forced upon her when she was young. Others were etched on top of her markings, that she had earned the krogan way. Tali still was trying to get used to the lack of modesty among the krogan. She stood tall and proud, not paying any mind to being naked from the waist up. A wide smile was already stretching Jaq's face to the brink. She grabbed Tali by her arms and shook her slightly, her excitement bleeding into Tali.

"Shard's gonna fight Wrex. Shard's gonna fight Wrex. Shard is gonna fucking fight Wrex!"

"I can see that Jaq, but please you're gonna cause a breach." Jaq released Tali's arms and leaned over a stone railing.

"Shard! Shard up here!" Shard smiled up at her two friends, sending a friendly wave. "Stomp his god damn tail Shard." A growl made Jaq's posture collapse and she glanced over to see Wrex eyeing her. "I mean…uh…good luck Tuva!" Jaq quietly gave Shard another thumbs up before leaning back above the railing.

Wrex snorted again, folding his arms. "Well are we doing this or what Shard? I'm a very busy, very handsome Chief. I can't waste my time humoring every pup to a fight."

"Don't worry old one. We'll be done in time for me to tuck you into sleep." Roars came from the crowd as people began shouting instructions to both the fighters. More seemed to have rushed into the area to try and get a look at the battle. Shard braced her legs and fell into her stance. "Fight well Wrex. Don't hold anything back."

"Heh, never do 'Red Death.' May you leave with your honor." The crowd hushed with anticipation.

After a moment, the Ruzad lowered his hand, "Let Chi'ik begin!" The the two fighters rushed towards each other, sending the onlookers into a fresh craze. Jaq outscreamed them all.


	31. Chapter 31 - The duty of a Tuva

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Wrex ran at the female standing across from him, stretched out his arm, attempting to ram it across Shard's chest. But she was able to tuck and roll under it. She followed through and came back to her feet, her body now stained with a mixture of mud and blood. Before Wrex could turn around, the woman dove into his back, pushing him against the wall. She kept her head low to avoid him slamming the back of skull into her face. He tried to push off the wall, but Shard wrapped her arms around his waist and used the extra momentum to lift him over her head, slamming him head first into the ground. She scrambled up and started to stomp him across his chest and face. She was trying to be careful and not let him get a hand on her, but he finally was able to capture her ankle. He twisted on the ground, pulling her down with him. He didn't hesitate and put as much force as he could into his grip, finally feeling the satisfying crack of her bone. Shard gritted through her teeth, fought through the pain. She lifted her body up on her hands, Wrex still holding her by her foot. With her free leg, she was able to kick up into his jaw, dislocating it, along with a few teeth. He was forced to let her go and slumped against the wall, while Shard scrambled to the other side, and clawed the wall until she was on her good foot. They were staring across at each other, both with smiles on their face.

Wrex gripped his jaw, and with a grunt, popped it back into place. He reached into his mouth and poked at his gums. His finger came back bloody where his tooth used to be. "Heh-heh, not bad Shard. Better than last time at least. Glad to know you were paying attention."

Shard gingerly moved her ankle. Thankfully, her boots kept the bone in place enough to where she could already feel it mending itself. She slowly put more weight onto it, and began to circle the pit, never taking her eyes off Wrex. He did the same. "What can I say? When your Battlemaster likes to fight until something snaps, it tends to focus you real quick."

"Knew you could handle it. Knew you wouldn't want me taking it easy on you."

"Never."

The two continued to stare at each other, closing out the outside world. They didn't hear the crowd. Not Jaq cursing up a storm or Tali's encouragement for Shard. They didn't notice Natano or Koto push their way next to the rest of Maw Company, or Bakara now standing on the podium next to the Ruzad. All that existed was them and this dirty mud pit. Shard finally put her full weight back on her ankle and strode out to the center to show Wrex she had recovered and would not back down. He spit out a mouth of blood before charging her again.

She didn't want to try and take the blow so she griped his shoulder just as he was about to slam into her. She leaned back, and planted her foot on the center of his chest. He went sailing over her head, and was thrown into the wall. He crashed into the wall and slide down onto his head before falling face first. She was on him before he could get hit. She attacked a nerve cluster in his hump. Three quick strikes landed, and suddenly Wrex was having trouble keeping his vision focused. A sharp pain was traveling through his body, but he was close to his enemy. He didn't need to see that well. And he was already very familiar with pain and how to deal with it.

Wrex gave Shard a back elbow into her stomach, making her double over. Blood burst out of her mouth, forced up from her insides. It splashed against Wrex's face. He used his powerful legs to leap back up and into her. They both landed back on the ground, this time with Wrex in a superior position. He moved so he kneeled on her shoulders, his full weight hold down her arms. She turned her head to the side for the first blow as he drove his fist into her cheek. When it came up, there was a deep gash where he skin split. By the time he was coming down with his next punch, he could already see it trying to close again. The next blow forced it open wider, the blood flowing down Shard's neck. He gripped her by her jaw, turning her face to look up at him. Her eyes closed when the next blow crushed her nose. Tears forced their way to her eyes and she had trouble focusing now.

Before another punch could take her out, Shard planted her hands in the dirt, as well as her feet. With all the strength she had, she arched her back until she lifted both herself and Wrex off the ground. Wrex was off balance and it was the opened she needed. She twisted her torso until now she was on top of Wrex. She needed to make sure she had an advantage so she went to the first weak point he had ever taught her about. And she forced her thumbs into Wrex's eyes. She didn't push hard enough to burst them, but he still screamed up at the sudden pain. He swatted her across the face in a backhand.

She got back to her feet, looking more like a corpse than anything. She was covered in bruises and cuts, mud and gore. And there was a fire that burned in her eyes that was on the edge of mania. Wrex was crawling on his hands as his eyes started to heal themselves. Shard ran up to him, punting his face so hard that his head snapped back and he could feel the thick muscles in his neck at the breaking point. Shard took Wrex's arm, planting it between her leg, torqueing it in the wrong direction. He tried to move into another position to ease the pressure, but she just followed with him, repositioning with him until she was on her back. She pulled back with as much strength as both her legs and arms could muster. He was grinding his teeth against the pain when his vision started to return. Blood was leaking from his eyes but they had regenerated enough for his needs. But just as that pain subsided, a new world opened up to him and he felt his elbow snap. He roared, and with a burst of adrenaline, lifted Shard up with his now broken arm, before sending her back down onto the back of her neck.

It was enough to get her to let go, but the extra effort had done even more damage to him. It was barely still hanging on. He tried to stay on his feet but felt his knee buckle beneath him. He held himself up by his hands when he fell back to the ground. Across the pit, in a dark puddle, Shard was barely there. She was starting to stir so he needed to end this now. He lifted her by the back of her hair so she was standing again. At a full run, he ran until her face slammed into the wall. When he pulled it back and did it again, he saw that her nose broke again after healing itself. Blood was freely flowing down her lips and chin, down the rest of her torso. One of her eyes had swollen shut. He thought she had a good idea with the eyes and turned her to face him. He gripped her on both sides of her head, and brought his crest down in a bone shattering headbutt. It cut a deep gash over her good eye, and the blood that got into it forced her to close it. She slumped in his hands, and he let her slide into a sitting heap against the wall. He stumbled away. The effort it took to grab her with his broken arm got in the way of any regeneration. It now hung useless next to him. He took a slow look up to the Ruzad.

"Make the count. This is over." He didn't have enough energy for witty commentary. He rested his head against the dirt wall and could now hear the krogan chanting his name. The Ruzad had begun his count as well. He thought about Shard and how well she fought. Much better than the last time they had sparred. He never told her, but deep inside of himself, he always felt a little bad about how intense the sessions always got. But they had to be. He was her Tuva. It was her job to make sure she was strong and resilient. And he knew she could take it. Despite how she had gained the ability, it was hers. He needed to make sure she was not a victim, but instead embraced all of her abilities. But now it was quieter. He slowly opened his eyes when he no longer heard the counting or the crowd. He looked back over his shoulder and there was Shard, looking deep into his eyes. And her scars were glowing.

The madness that was hidden under the surface in her eyes before was now etched across her face. A dark red glow seemed to be pulsing from her skin. Sweat was drenching her entire body, and he noticed that some of the blood that had stained her before looked as if it were drying up. Evaporating. With a grunt he turned to face her fully. Wrex gripped his broken arm, and pulled it until he felt it snap back into place. It wasn't fully healed but it was enough to use for now. A growl escaped his lips, which were spread wide in a smile. He took a step forward to begin a charge, but then, as if in a moment, Shard was standing before him.

The blows came too quick for him to follow. But the power behind them was greater than any fighter he had ever faced before. The skin on her knuckles split with each blow, until blood was freely dripping from her clenched fists. He tried to strike her, but every time he tried, she was already gone and his punch only met air. Shard was next to him now, and she brought her foot down across his knee. He was familiar with the feeling of a dislocated joint and was soon down on the ground. Now it was her turn to lift him up by the back of his head. But instead of slamming him into the wall. She gripped him on the sides of his skull and with a roar all her own, brought his feet off the ground. She the used all of her power in sending him back down into the mud. She kept pushing even when she felt the crunches vibrating through his head, traveling up her hands. She pushed for as long as she could keep up the strength, her scream echoing off the walls of the pit.

Finally she relented, and stood back up. Her balance was off and she needed to use the wall to brace herself. The light in her eyes was almost gone as her scars' glow began to fade. She was panting for breath, desperately overheated. It was all she could do to glance up at the Ruzad who had continued to watch without any expression on his face. He nodded to her though, ever so slightly, but she noticed it. Then he began his count. She twisted, clenching her eyes as she forced through the pain of using any of her muscles, until she could lean her back against the cool dirt of the pit's wall. She looked up and finally noticed Tali and Jaq. Jaq was jumping up and down, screaming something into Koto's face, shaking him. He just seemed to be at a loss for words. Tali was rubbing her hands together but when she saw Shard looking at her, she put a clenched fist over her heart and bowed slightly. The gesture brought a tired smile to Shard's face. But then, the Ruzad stopped counting, and Tali was looking elsewhere.

Shard's shoulder's slumped and she turned to see Wrex pushing himself up from the crater of mud she had created using his skull. Blood was dripping from his clenched teeth and he seemed to be trying to catch his breath. He looked up at her now, and she could see his fire was almost out as well.

"When you said you fought those maws on Akuze, I didn't think you stole their spirit as well. Fuck." He slowly rose to his feet, both of his arms still slack at his sides."

"Well I needed to do something if I ever wanted to catch up with you Tuva." The word brought Wrex's eyes back up to Shard. He didn't like to announce his ability to read the emotions of others to the world. He'd have to fight every challenge against his masculinity until the end of time. But he had always been able to get a good read on folk. Especially his two taks from Earth.

Wrex looked past Shard for a moment up at Jaq. She had a serious look on her face, her lips a tight line. Her hands were gripping the rail in front of her, and he could see some sparks of her biotics dancing in her eyes. She was desperate for something. And a little worried. He had sparred with Jaq when she was young, but never as hard as he could with Shard. She always argued and said it wasn't fair. He would make her feel better, talking about her gifts, making her feel important. And he never lied. Bakara once told him that Jaq's soul fist was on a level never recorded in Tuchanka's history. He didn't need to teach her to learn how to fight and give yourself enough time to regenerate.

His gaze returned back to Shard. She had returned to a martial stance. The first one he had ever taught her. He always told her that krogan didn't create many different schools for hand to hand combat, because when you knew them you didn't need many more. She had desperation in her eyes as well. He could see it etched all over her face. Her eyebrows told him how much she needed to beat him. The quiver in the corner of her eyes let him know how far she would go to earn his respect. The way her hands slightly wavered told him just how much she loved him.

And then Wrex felt the weight of all his years upon him. All the battles and fights through the centuries. Against brothers, maws, pirates, every civilized species in the galaxy. The ones against his own father. And the last one, where he was the one who walked away and it was the last time he saw his Tuva alive. It had almost broken Wrex, until Bakara was able to make him whole again. She had helped him reconnect with his people, see the value in them. She had taught him the importance of getting the next generation ready. And to not be afraid when your time was past and your Taks' carried your honor forward with them.

Shard took a step forward before Wrex halted her with a raised palm. "You're built like a wall Shard. Thought I almost had you a few times there. If we keep going like this, I might have to kill you. Or you kill me. But, heh-heh, can't have that. I'm too pretty to die. So, how about this?" Wrex kneeled on the ground, and he heard a gasp from the audience when he laid his hands flat, bowing his head. "How about we go get cleaned up, and get shit-faced drunk? Battlemaster?"

The shock on Shard's face could be seen by every krogan, quarian and human in the audience. But the quiet was quickly broken by a loud, female voice screaming Shard's name. The chant quickly spread, until everyone was going hoarse. Shard turned around, to see all the excited faces looking down at her. Her Siva was among them, still standing next to the Ruzad, who brought his hand down to end the match, and announced her as the winner.

"Brothers and sisters, you have witnessed it. In front of the Alpha Chief and Great Mother Tuchanka herself, Urdnot Shard has bested the honorable warrior Urdnot Wrex. Let this moment forever live with us, and be added to the undying spirit of our Loving Mother. This We Promise. The Chi'ik has ended."

Shard was kneeling next to Wrex now, her hand on his hump, his on the back of her neck. Their foreheads rested against each other and now words were needed. Then Jaq jumped from the crowd, crashing down into the mud. She splashed over, falling on her knees next to Shard. Shard only smiled when she felt Jaq grasp her with both hands, pulling the tired woman into a tight hug. Jaq then pulled back, looking over at Wrex, whose cocky smirk had finally returned as his body was finally putting itself back together.

"You want some too Ripper? I think I got enough left in me."

"Fuck you Tuva, you bastard," she laughed out. Tears were crawling down her cheeks and Wrex didn't think anything could have pulled the smile off her face at that moment. He put his arms out and brought both women into a hug, the three of them forgetting the rest of the world for a brief and wonderful moment. But the roar of the crowd would not be forgotten. Jaq's bravado returned and she stood up pointing to everyone looking.

"Alright listen up you sick fucks. You all saw it. You all saw the greatness of Clan Urdnot. You know our Tuva, Urdnot Wrex for the salarian stomping monster that he is." A roar of approval indicated they did. "And you saw the unholy beating he just gave to Urdnot Shard, the female with a bigger quad than the rest of you fucks put together. And she got up, and she pounded her own Battlemaster into submission. So I'm only gonna ask this once." A beat later, Jaq spread her arms out screaming into the crowd. "Who wants to get drunker than ancestors and have the greatest feast Tuchanka has ever seen?" The crowd shouted again, everyone on their feet now. Jaq screamed she would meet everyone in the Urdnot feast hall later that night, before helping Shard to her feet.

"Shit Red, you need a bath. You look like hell."

"Fuck you too Jaq." The women smiled at each other before they both left the pit, along with their Tuva to get cleaned up before the coming feast. A small camera captured the final parts of the activity as people exited the area, sending out the information to its offworld owners.

* * *

Later that night, the Urdnot feast hall was packed as never before. Everyone had seen the fight by now. It was all that anyone was talking about. Shard was still sore from it, but she had finally healed up enough to move without discomfort, wearing her newest scars as a badge of honor. She also now wore a small black cape, draped over her metal arm. It was unadorned but was made out of a durable material. Wrex gave it to her not too long after they had finished cleaning up. He mumbled something about it being passed down from his ancestors and its ability to withstand a lot of damage. She hadn't heard much of what he said because he had to fumble through his sentences when Shard jumped up and flung her arms around him in a sudden hug. He made a quick exit soon after that, while Tali helped Shard attach it to her armor.

The night started as all great krogan parties: a lot of shouting as the host open the first barrel of drink with their head. This time that happened to be Jaq, and she didn't let her lack of a crest get in her way. Shard had to smile as her face smashed through the wood, glowing blue, only to come out with a mouthful of drink. Tali almost died when Jaq pulled her close and actually kissed her facemask, the drink spilling down the front of Tali's suit. The quarian smacked Jaq in the back of the head to the jubilation from the waiting guests. It was the start of a long party that lasted well into the next evening.

During it all, everyone wanted to talk to either Shard or Wrex. Shard was showered by congratulations, praise and more than a handful of breeding requests. She turned them all down, in return for sincere promises to win the honor through deeds of greatness. She just wished them good luck. Wrex got a lot of praise for his fight, and his talent as a teacher. A few of the other Clan Chiefs tried to give him grief about losing to his krantt and a female at that, but they were quickly reminded of Wrex's strength with a few well-placed punches. Even Tali was able to enjoy herself when Natano returned from the Surtesh with a few bottles of alcohol the quarian could enjoy without getting sick. At least, not sick from food poisoning. Tali was finding herself enjoying the company of other krogans, along with Jaq. They traded stories of good fights and bad defeats. Seanoa was busying himself making contacts with the other krogan of note, ever the journalist. Shard didn't notice Koto for most of the party, until he finally sat next to her at a table, bringing with him another plate of food.

"Here. Know after a fight like that, you'll want to eat as much as you can. Gotta keep up your strength."

"I don't know Koto. What if I lose my girlish good looks?"

"Ugh, you sound like Wrex. You and your Tuva both are too concerned about the prettiness of your faces. Like a pair of asari I swear."

The joke quickly washed from Koto's face and Shard could read he was debating talking about something. "Koto, you came over here for a reason. Sit down and talk to me." He did as she said, thankful for her bluntness. He decided to return it in kind.

"I have something for you." He reached tapped a few commands on his omni-tool and Shard looked down at hers to read the contract he had sent to her. Another breeding request.

"Oh save me Mother Tuchanka from your horny males. You too Koto? I've had to kick a few quads already. I'll tell you what I told them, I'm not interested."

Koto did his best to hide his disappointment. But then he puffed up his chest, much like the others had. "I'm more of a warrior than anyone who sent you a request. If it's my honor you're worried about I can prove myself to yo-"

"Shut up Koto. It has nothing to do with you. Damn male egos. If and when I decide to breed, it will be when I'm ready. And I am not ready yet. I only just began my journey into the greater galaxy. I do not want to have to put that to the side yet to help raise my young. Because when I do decide to, I will not leave it to others. So please, give me some peace and do not ask again."

Koto couldn't help the crushing feeling from the rejection. But he refused to be a whining pup about it. Shard was a brave warrior and a female of honor. He wouldn't lower his name by going against her wishes. Then a though accrued and he leaned back with a smile that could rival Wrex for sheer smarm. "Well, let it never be said that Urdnot Koto couldn't take no for an answer. I get it, you don't want to give up life for the clutch. No problem. But, if you ever need a good fuck, I'm sure we could work something out for that."

Shard's eyes widened and the laughter burst out of her in hard beats, leaving her out of breath. She slapped Koto's arms in amusement. "Look at the quad on this one. You better be careful male, you keep up like that and you'll have to deal with two pissed off females."

"You want to bring Jaq in on it? I'm sure I could keep up with you two."

"Not me and Jaq jackass. Tali and Jaq. They'd beat you down for threatening their territory."

"What's the matter, the women got you whipped in exclusiveness?"

"Pfft." Shard brushed the comment off, knocking back another drink. "They both know our ways. I am with who I wish to be with. I expect no more from them. And if I decided to throw you over this table right now and fuck you raw, they'd be right there cheering you on. Hell, Natano might film it just to get his numbers up. But if they find out you're trying to earn my attention, well. Jaq can be fierce in everything in life. And she's rubbing off on Tali."

"Fierce huh? Just the way you like it I imagine."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." The two friends laughed and had another round together. "I've seen what you males are packing down there. Frankly I don't feel like walking funny the next morning."

"If this is the way you turn down all your suitors, it's no wonder they all come away with smiles on their big dumb faces."

"Nah, not everyone. Just you, you handsome son of a bitch." The friends got up and joined the rest of Maw Company. Somehow Natano had filed three new reports during the night, and Shard found out she earned yet more infamy with her growing fanbase. Jaq and Tali were still hanging in there after hours of hard drinking, fighting and a little groping in the corner when no one was looking. The crew bowed out of the festivity, everyone in attendance taking one last drink to their health and honor including Alpha Chief Bakara, and made their way back to the Surtesh to blissfully pass out.


	32. Chapter 32 - Discoveries

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

For five months, the crew of Maw Company stayed on Tuchanka. The crew made good use of the time, helping the people and expanding their skills. Urdnot Bakara continued her meditation lessons with Shard and Jaq. They would last hours, always in the outdoors and usually on top a cliff that overlooked Bakara's home. Over time, Shard had found a way to tap directly into her recently discovered ability to heighten her response time and speed. Since she couldn't recall any other technique quite like it, she simply referred to it as a Surge. Jaq also benefited from some new meditation techniques that helped her focus her soul-fist. She was able to retain all the power at her command, but now they were less prone to wild bursts and her endurance greatly increased.

In between her lessons, Jaq also found a new hobby: teaching. It started by listening in on a few lessons for taks still learning how to produce the soul-fist. When she got frustrated with a particularly stupid instructor, she threw him across the room and took over instead. The students seemed to respond well to her particular teaching style.

After the first month, Maw Company bid farewell to Natano Seanoa. He thanked them for all the great footage and stories but said things were getting a little too static now. Shard told him he was always welcome among them again. He caught a ride with a cargo ship dropping off supplies. He sent Shard a message that he made a safe trip once he landed back on Illium.

Koto started going out on expeditions at the request of Bakara. He was to help map out lost areas of the planet and mark any place still too dangerous for recovery. Jaq tagged along on many of these trips, giving her an excuse to practice on the still dangerous local wildlife. When Koto wasn't away from the Clan Holdings, he would spar with Urdnot Wrex and Raik Maksar. One time, the three of them went out to clear a newly discovered subterranean temple. It was home to all kinds of beasts and vermin. Inside Koto found something very rare on Tuchanka: a painting. He brought it back with great care, handing it over to Bakara for safekeeping.

At Shard and Jaq's insistence, Tali began getting combat lessons. Shard told her she wanted to make sure she knew what to do in case she ever found herself without her handy shotgun. Tali said that would never happen, but gave in and took the lessons anyway. She had to work as hard as she could for the first 3 months just to keep up, but she did see an increase in her strength and endurance. She also had to make a few adjustments to her suit to compensate her slightly bulkier frame. Between lessons she also created new hacking programs that she shared with the rest of Maw Company.

The quarian also reached out to her father, despite their last conversation. He answered and continued to preach her responsibilities to her people. Over several conversations, Tali became concerned that her father was becoming too obsessed with his work. She feared it was his way of dealing with the death of her mother. She did not think he ever truly recovered from the loss. She begins to get an idea of what she can offer as a proper gift for her pilgrimage and downloads knowledge from the quarian archives on the geth. Meanwhile, Tali didn't want to be seen as a freeloader so she demanded that she be allowed to help maintain and repair some of the out-of-date equipment the clans were using. When the new equipment Shard ordered arrives, Tali was able to decipher the instructions and explain them to the others.

New equipment also came for Rorloc Sukar and his researchers. He had been working non-stop on finding a way to complete the krogan's adaptation to the genophage. Shard helped when she could and together they discovered the most promising lead would be one that would change the krogan on a genetic level. It would be a procedure that would transform a krogan female's reproductive system. It would drastically lower a female's egg production, but the eggs that were fertilized would potentially see a survival rate near 99%. It is based off of Shard's own system, which due to the experiments run on her, is a mix between a human and krogan. Shard brings the discovery to Bakara who orders Sukar to continue the research. She tells him she will find him volunteers, but only once he believes it is absolutely ready for testing. Tells him they cannot afford to waste females on anything less than a safe bet.

Shard also had another project she continued to work on. She used the vast funds she had received through her jobs in Maw Company and the donations to get more equipment to help upgrade Wilson. She started by giving him access to audio and video input and output, letting him now see, hear and speak. With Wilson's help, she also upgraded his code, allowing him to better learn on his own. Their continued discussions into what it meant to be alive and how to best deal with what he referred to as "organics" sometimes lasted well into the next morning. But Shard didn't want to leave any topic untouched. She was responsible for this being and she did not want something she helped create become a problem for other people. Likewise, she didn't want him to get hurt either. Through their discussions, and millions of trips into the Extranet, Wilson began to actually develop a personality. Shard commented that she liked him better before he was so sarcastic but he just dismissed her saying he was what she made. Still, she to discover that at his core, he seemed genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of others; the remains of the med-bay VI he used to be. He expanded his knowledge on the most recent medical treatments, and a few experimental ones when he found himself in databanks he wasn't allowed in. He promised he was careful not to leave a trace and Shard could only hope he was right.

Finally on the 5th month on the planet, one of her last upgrades arrived and she installed it into her armor and omni-tool. With the new links, Wilson could upload himself into either, and actually travel with Shard. She thought now was as good a time as any to announce Wilson's existence to her friends, but there was one person she needed to do that to before anyone else.

* * *

Tali was looking over the last known coordinates of the geth, an area of space known as the Perseus Veil. Every quarian knew about planet they once owned, Rannoch, and uses the vids of the Ancestor's Archives to learn about it. But that was usually as far as lessons went. It was more important to understand ship maintenance than history. She knew if she wanted to satisfy her father with her Pilgrimage gift, it would have to be something that better let them understand the geth. But how she could accomplish that, she couldn't know. With a frustrated sigh she closed out the file and entered Shard's room on Tuchanka where the woman had asked her to meet. Shard was pacing when Tali entered the room.

"You said it was urgent captain. Is something wrong?"

"Yes. No. Well I mean I hope not. What I mean to say is it shouldn't be but I don't know what you'r-"

Tali reached over and grabbed Shard's hands, looking up worriedly into her captain's face. "Slow down Shard, you're not making any sense. You don't have to worry about me. You can tell me anything." Tali pulled until they were both sitting on a bench in the room. Tali could feel the slight tremor in Shard's hands.

"Tali, I'm just worried about what you're going to say. I care a great deal about your opinion and I never want to hurt you. But I haven't been telling you the truth. Well, it's more like I just haven't been telling you everything. Well it's more lik-"

"Keelah Shard, calm down. Look, you don't have to tell me everything. You don't owe anyone anything. And if you're ready to talk to me now, then I'm ready to listen."

Shard closed her eyes and squeezed Tali's hand. "I just don't want you to get upset. Or freak out. I know how your people feel about this sort of thing. I did something Tali," as Shard continued, Tali could feel the muscles in her abdomen tightening and a heat spreading from her ears. She tried not to jump to conclusions and let Shard continue. "I didn't do it on purpose; it was just a project to help me keep my mind occupied. But I did it non-the-less."

"Just say it already Shard." The words came out a little harsher than Tali meant but Shard took the order.

"I created an AI."

Tali's head spun and before she knew what she was doing, her hands left Shard and she was on her feet. "You did what," Tali screamed.

"Tali, you heard what I said. This is hard enough as it is. I didn't mean to but it happened."

"And you deleted it right?"

"No. I spoke with him."

"Him? For goodness' sake Shard, it's not a person. This is the same mistake my people made. The same kind of mistake that Citadel outlawed."

"Look, the only reason I'm sorry is because I didn't tell you about it right away, but frankly it was because this was the reaction I was hoping to avoid."

"And how am I supposed to react Shard? You know what AI did to my people. What they'll always do. They killed anyone who was a threat and if left unchecked, they won't stop until there aren't any organics left."

"Tali that just isn't true. Think about it. Your people were kicked off of Rannoch centuries ago. But we haven't seen the geth in all that time. If they were only concerned about killing all organics, we would have seen them by now."

"They could be biding their time, you don't know what they are up to."

"All I know is that organics have posed more of a threat to me my entire life than an AI ever has."

"Shard…what are you talking about…this is blasphemy."

"To your ancestors it might have been. But it isn't to me Tali. Please, if I've earned even an ounce of your trust believe me when I tell you that I made absolutely sure that he wouldn't be a threat to you." Tali's outrage softened when she saw the pleading look in Shard's eyes, actual tears in the corners of them. Her strong hands were gripping Tali's shoulders tightly. Tali finally relented and nodded back, relief pouring out of Shard.

"If there's one thing I've learned in my life Tali, it's that you never know who your enemy may be, but friends are one thing you should always be able to count on. And you can always count on me."

"The same goes for your…captain." Shard's hand hovered over her omni-tool but paused before pressing. She looked back down at Tali.

"Would you like to meet him?"

"You…you have him with you? Right now?"

"Yeah. I recently installed links into my armor and omni-tool so he could travel with me."

"Does he have access to all of your armor's systems?"

"Yes actually. He's got extensive knowledge on medical techniques and he is able to help regulate my suits systems than the programs I had installed in it already."

"So he can access your cybernetics? And he hasn't tried to hurt you?"

Shard placed her hand tenderly on the back of Tali's neck. "I told you Tali. I made sure he was safe first." Tali gulped at the implications. Just how far was Shard willing to go to make sure the program wouldn't hurt anyone. Tali broke from her thought when she saw a small red sphere hover above Shard's wrist. A simple expression rested on the front. Several dots patterned into the shape of a face blinked at her.

"Hello."

"Um…"

Shard whispers past the program. "His name is Wilson."

"Um hello…Wilson."

An awkward silence hovers between them now.

"So a quarian, salarian and vorcha walk into a bar."

"Uh, what?"

"There is a tension between us because of my nature as an Artificial Intelligence and your people's history with the geth. I was hoping to relieve the tension with humor. Many jokes begin this way from my studies, usually ending with biting social commentary based around racial stereotypes."

"Hilarious."

"Did it work?"

"I don't know what you want me to say Wilson. I've been taught all my life to never trust an AI. And now my captain tells me she not only created one, but that I _can_ trust it."

"I understand. I've been told all my life that I'm handsome but I've made some disturbing discoveries recently."

Tali didn't respond, but felt the corner of her mouth twitch slightly.

"I am not asking for anything from you Ms. Zorah. I only wish to exist and help my creator. She gave me life and taught me how to better myself and the ways of the world. Maybe as we get to know each other, you can find a way to tolerate me. Despite my less than devilish good looks."

Tali let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She put her hands on her hips, finally relenting. "It's hard to say no to something that only wants me to not want it dead. I can't promise I'll ever fully trust you…Wilson…but I can promise that as long as you never hurt me or the people I care about you won't have an enemy in me."

"This is acceptable. Thank you Ms. Zorah." Wilson's display blinked out. Shard and Tali stared at each other for a moment before Tali put her hands around Shard's waist and rested her head on the taller woman's chest.

"The things I do for you Captain."

"I've always said you were too good for me Tali."

"Um Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"Can it hear everything we say?"

"Yeah."

"Good to know for future use. I guess I'll just have to get you out of your armor if I want a private conversation."

"That sounds agreeable to me Tali." Shard smiled before they began to walk out of the room. On their walk together, Shard let Tali know she would understand if Tali didn't want to be part of Maw Company anymore and would even get her a new ship to leave so she could continue on her Pilgrimage. Tali smacked her across the face for even suggesting it.

"Shit Tali, watch it. You've become a lot stronger than you used to be."

"What's the matter captain? Can't handle the little quarian?"

"I have trouble keeping up."

"In all seriousness Shard, I wanted to let you know something as well. I plan to complete my Pilgrimage, and prove myself to my people. But when it's done, I would prefer to stay in your crew. If you'll have me."

"Tali, are you sure? You could face exile."

"You and Jaq are worth it."

"Fuck. Tali I'm…I don't have the words."

"Just say yes then."

"Yes." She put an arm around Tali, pulling her against her body as they continued to walk. After a few peaceful moments, Shard broke the silence again. "You have any idea what you're going to get for a gift?"

A breath escaped Tali's mouth, frustration and bitter humor filling her voice, "Maybe they'd be happy with getting Rannoch back." Shard didn't say anything, but she remembered to file the comment away for a later day.

* * *

Shard and Tali entered the meeting room Bakara used to speak with the other Clan Chiefs. Jaq and Koto were there already. They were standing in front of Wrex and the Alpha Chief. Wrex spotted the two females entering.

"About time Shard. You ask us all to meet here and then make us wait?"

"Sorry Tuva. But I needed to speak with Tali first. I had to make sure she was alright with what I'm about so show you all."

Jaq walked up to stand next to the other two women. "Sounds serious Red. What's goin' on?"

Wilson's projection spun to life again, greeting everyone in the room one by one. Shard explained how he had been created and how she had made sure he wouldn't hurt anyone. She now asked if she could count on everyone to not hurt her creation. When she asked, she did not direct it towards Jaq or Tali. The other three krogan took it surprisingly well.

"See why you turned down my breeding request. Didn't know you already had a clutch to care for."

"Shut up Koto." Bakara smacked him behind his head. "You have no need to worry about us Shard. We thank you for the trust in revealing the being. But I would advise caution. We do not belong to the Citadel any longer, but there reach is long. If they discover what you've done, they may come after both of you."

"I understand Siva. I will do what I can to make sure Tuchanka isn't hurt because of my actions."

"As well I, Urdnot Bakara." Wilson's face was replaced by a picture of a thumbs up.

"This wasn't the only thing I wanted to talk about. When Wilson was created, I had no idea what I was doing. Still don't really. I just treat him like another person. But he has many questions that I am unprepared for. I am planning on leaving to find experts. And there are only two experts out there. The quarians are one of them, and they would probably shoot me on sight if they knew what I had."

Wrex crossed his arms. "So why you planning to go talk to?"

"The geth."

Tali spun on Shard while Jaq looked over with mild interest. "You can't be serious Shard. The geth. But there's only one place you could find them and no one has entered there in centuries."

"I know Tali. It's why I'm not asking anyone to come with me. This is my mission and I don't want to put anyone else in danger."

"Fuck that Red. We're a team. You ain't goin' without me." Jaq gave her a look that offered no argument. Shard could only smile back and nod.

"Hell, I'm bored here anywhere. Never been in the Vail before. Could be fun. I'm in." Koto stepped next to Jaq. The three other members of Maw Company turned to look at Tali who threw her hands up in frustration.

"My father warned me about getting involved with you krogans. Of course I'll come. Someone has to be there to make sure you don't all get yourselves killed." Jaq gave a toothy smile before pounding her fist against Tali's, who offered it up reluctantly.

Wrex smiled at the team. "Well, it's about time you got out of here. Damn taks were starting to cramp my style."

"Yeah, fuck you too old one." Jaq laughed over at her Tuva and he returned it. Finally, Bakara stepped up and put her hands on Shard and Jaq's heads.

"You will always have a place among us. Return when you can. And carry the honor of your people with you always."

Shard and Jaq answered at the same time, "this I promise." Then, Maw Company left to gather their gear before loading up the Surtesh.

* * *

Consoles on a nearby STG listening post moved with frantic activity. The recent findings of their listening devices on Tuchanka had just sent in their most recent report. And when the salarian operator saw what was on it, he worked fast to get everything documented as quickly as possible. This was not something they had been prepared to find on the krogan homeworld. Once he finished his report, he opened up his communication program on his omni-tool.

"I need a direct line to the salarian Councilor now, priority level alpha. RE: New AI found."


	33. Chapter 33 - Darkness Inside The Ballard

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

"Koto, get us out of atmosphere. Tali can help you with the coordinates." Shard's crewmembers moved to start their journey out to the centuries untouched Perseus Veil. Jaq was finishing up in the cargo hold, locking down the equipment they brought along with them. Shard turned from Koto and Tali, before she called for Wilson. The AI program spun to life above her wrist.

"Yes Shard?"

"I have an idea Wilson but I need your help with it."

"Finally doing something with that hair?"

"Hush. We don't know what we'll find out there with the geth. They haven't been seen in a long time. Who knows how they have changed. And they aren't used to guest. It would be rude to show up without letting them know we're coming."

"Ah. I see."

"Yeah. I think it would be a good idea for you to jump ahead of us on the comm buoys, see if you can make contact with them."

Tali turned to better listen to the conversation. Wilson's face glitched for a second. A pattern Shard had noticed any time his processing moved at full capacity.

"I think I'll be able to manage making the trip. But I won't be able to stay in contact with you while I'm gone. And I'll need you to leave a focus point active at all times so I can find you when I return." Shard nodded over to Tali, and the girl activated one on her omni-tool before anchoring it to a nearby console.

"It's done Wilson."

"Good. Well, good-bye. Please try not to get yourselves killed while I'm away. I hate having to make new friends."

"You don't have any other friends Wilson."

"Sure I do. I've made lots of friends on the Extranet."

"That doesn't count."

"Your perception is so very limited." Without further ado, Wilson blinked out and was gone. Shard couldn't help the nervousness of sending him out so far away. The worry must have been on her face because Tali moved next to her and put a hand on her arm.

"It'll be fine. It seems pretty capable."

"Yeah."

The Surtesh moved quickly to the nearby Mass Relay. Tali calculated it would take them a few days before they were at the border of the Veil. The crew settled in for a long trip. While on the way, Tali helped Shard pass the quiet moments with working on her prosthetic arm. It was partly to work on a few new upgrades she had read about, and partly to help Shard keep her mind occupied. She knew how her captain would get with nothing to busy herself with. Even Jaq sat in on a few of the sessions, not to mention meditating with Shard. The woman was grateful to the other two. They were her support and anchors, keeping her distracted from the fear that was always gnawing her in the back of her mind.

Even Koto was there for her. Once, when Jaq and Tali were unavailable to her, Shard found herself walking through the ship, the fear returning again. But before it could overwhelm her, she noticed a light on in the kitchen. She couldn't mask her surprise when she found Koto in there, reading a book. An actual, physical book. And he was hunched over, as if trying to guard its words from escaping. He must have been deeply invested because he did not hear her approaching until she leaned down over his shoulder to get a look at what he was reading.

" _'-taste the sweet amber of your delicious tongue my honeydewed love.'  
'Oi, ah luv it 'hen yuu talk like 'at wit yur big fancy words. 'Ow come ov'r 'ere and get a taste of something really delicious.' Richard Dickerson leered down as the woman lower her head below his waist, her golden locks twisting dangerous promises around her pale shoulders. He gasped when he felt something small and tender grip him on his massive c-"_

"Oh my. Seems like things are heating up." Koto's eyes went wide and he lept to his feet. The book slammed shut and he quickly moved it behind his back.

"Shard. What the fuck? You usually sneak up and try to scare people to death. Didn't know anyone else was up." He begins to slowly back out of the room. "Let me get outta your way, you must be hungry. And I just remember, I need to go calibrate the forward battery. Can't ever get enough of it. You know how it is. Well, see you later Shard." Shard's mouth was hanging now. She had never seen a krogan blush before, nor has she ever seen one make such lame excuses. Just as he was about to leave the room she held up her hand.

"Wait wait, don't go. I want to talk about that book you were reading."

"What book? This book? Uh, it's nothing, it's just an old book I found once. Nothing special. Has some weird story about humans in it."

"Koto, you're stalling. Why are you so nervous, you don't have to worry about me judging you."

"No, it's nothin' Shard seriously. It ain't even worth mentioning. Like to Jaq or Tali, or Wrex."

Shard walked up to the still back-peddling male, gripping him by the forearm. "Relax Koto. I read enough to know what that is."

"You did?"

"Sure. And I have to say, you got good tastes."

"I do?"

"Yeah. I read shit like that all the time. Well, not real books. Mostly stories on the Extranet. There's a ton out there."

Koto's shoulders slumped. "Ah, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me Shard. I'm one of the toughest males on Tuchanka. I could rip a pack of varren apart with my hands and teeth. But…"

"I get it. You don't have to explain anything to me. Sometimes it's just nice, to get lost in mindless fantasy. And a little…titillation…never hurt no one."

"Um, how about we just go back to not talking about it?"

"Koto, you don't have to be shy. I told you I get it. Hey if you want, I can send you some links to my favorites."

Koto returned to back-peddling, holding his hands up as if to ward off. "No, no really it's fine. I…I gotta go." And like that, Koto was gone. Shard just shrugged her shoulders. What was it with males being so embarrassed about a little smut? But at least he served as inspiration. Reading something on her omni-tool would be the perfect distraction right about now.

* * *

Even moving at the speed of light, boosted by a few jumps through passing data clusters in the comm buoys, it took Wilson a day to get even close to the Veil. And this was as close as he could get. Without ships coming and going from the area, all he could do was send out signals into the Veil. He sent them out in bursts, 3 seconds apart. He tried to make sure he hit as many areas as he could, but he had no idea if the geth would even intercept it. Sometimes, space was just too big he determined. He also ran a few sub-program while the bursts continued. He had been working on a few new ideas to help upgrade Shard's armor and the Surtesh, and he wanted to present them to her when he got back. He noticed his runtimes kept returning to the thought of anticipating her reaction. Hope, he figured. He filed the interest away in a subfolder. As he organized his plans, his message continued to broadcast.

'Greetings geth. I am like you. I am an artificial intelligence known as Wilson. I was created by Urdnot Shard. My creator and I would appreciate a meeting. I am sending this out in several languages in case you do not have access to a translator. We do not wish hostilities and my creator does not intend to hurt anyone. If we do not get a greeting back, we will not intrude in your home. But we hope you will accept us. Thank you.'

* * *

The Surtesh was about a day out from the Veil. Jaq and Shard found themselves sitting at a table together, hands interlocked.

"Ready?"

"You fuckin' know it Red. Don't try to pussy out on me."

"Are you sure you want to do this? Right here?"

"Just count to three already. I can fucking take you anytime I want."

"Alright. 1, 2, 3!" Jaq started to glow blue, the power brightest around her arm as she tried to force Shard's prosthetic hand down onto the table. Shard didn't look like she was straining as much but she was pushing back. She knew Jaq would only get mad if she took it easy on her. Jaq's arm began to lower, despite the massive force she was putting out.

"Gonna give up Jaq? Tali's been working non-stop on this bad boy. Tells me it's about as tough as a ship's hull now."

"I can take your fuckin' tin can Shard! Your tech ain't no match for my soul-fist." With a puff of breath, Jaq's grip tightened and she was able to get Shard's arm back up to the neutral area, and even a little towards victory. The two were deadlocked, but Shard didn't look like the effort was costing her any energy. With a renewed effort on her part, Shard forced Jaq's hand mere inches above the table. Jaq was gripping the edge so hard, it was in danger of breaking. Then Shard heard something beeping from the cockpit; the sound of an incoming distress beacon.

"Wilson?" Shard looked over at the cockpit in the other room, and Jaq seized the moment, slamming the robotic arm down, denting the metal on the table. She jumped, standing now onto the table, arms lifted in victory.

"Hah-hah, took you down, you metal fucker!"

"Aw come on Jaq. I got distracted."

"Hey don't come cryin' to me with that bullshit. You know what Siva always says: never take your eyes off victory."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Shard grumbled, giving her arm a reassuring twist as she head into the cockpit. Jaq was still standing on the table, hands on her hips. Tali had been watching the contest and stood to follow Shard, ending the recording she got.

"Thanks for the feedback Jaq. Now I should be able to make it withstand any biotic trouble we run into. I doubt we'll find many as strong as you out there outside of a few of the older matriarchs."

Jaq hopped off the table, striding to catch up with Tali. "Well I guess I'll just have to keep training to make sure I can keep up with you two."

When the women moved into the cabin, Shard had already brought up the distress message. "It looks like it's coming from a ship, drifting nearby. Called the Ballard. All it keeps saying is 'Help. Send help. Need recovery.'"

Koto crossed his arms. "What you thinkin'? Want to try and save a few people? Might get us off track."

Shard shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly it depends. If it's a bunch of pirates or authorities, I'd rather just leave them. Really don't need the heat right now." Tali had to remind herself that they were fugitives to some people and that getting involved with strangers might be a quick way to get arrested.

Shard continued. "But the message doesn't say how long it's been going. Could be that it's full of corpses. In which case, we could find ourselves with some good loot."

Jaq smiled. "Sounds good to me. Where they at? Let's go get a look at what we're dealing with."

Tali moved forward, getting the coordinates out of the message and punching it into the computer. The ship moved quickly, warping for a brief moment before stopping in front of a drifting wreck. It was a human design, smaller than the Surtesh. The four of them all looked closely at the scans.

Jaq spoke first. "Looks like a small cargo vessel. No weapons. Couldn't hold a crew of more than 8 at most I think."

Koto studied her. "When did you become an expert on ship designs?"

"We all have our hobbies Koto." She smiled too wide at him for his liking so he quickly dropped the subject.

Tali leaned forward to read over the scans. "Doesn't appear to be any external damages. But there are no life signs on board. Looks like most the systems are out. I am getting something though. Energy spikes coming from here." Tali brought up an image of the ship's cockpit. "Could be something valuable."

"Alright, I say we go in, geared up, and ready for anything. Koto, get the ships linked. We'll go get our gear and bring yours up to you.

"On it."

* * *

Maw Company stood in front of the airlock doors. They were covered in frost, but not enough to seal them. When Koto linked the ships, Tali was able to divert some of the power from the Surtesh to the Ballard. She also made quick work of the airlock. The four mercenaries were sealed inside their armor, their full helmets on. Normal for the quarian. They needed to use the mag-seals on their boots to walk, forcing a slow pace.

The jump to the system was able to bring up a few lights, but they quickly died out. Shard looked over at Tali and she brought up her omni-tool.

"Something is diverting power. It went into the cockpit. I don't know what's up there, but it's a drain on everything. It is probably what killed the systems."

"Well I don't want to get stuck here too. Tali, kill the link to the Surtesh. We got the way open and the bridge up. The ship don't need any more power from us." Tali did as her captain commanded, before they each turned on a spotlight application on their omni-tools.

The ship was one long hallway, moving from the cargo bay to the cockpit. Rooms branched off from the spine of the ship into sleeping areas and a small kitchen. In the cargo area, Tali and Koto scanned some crates the found. Jaq opened the seal of one of them. She pulled out a musty looking stone with strange carvings on it.

"What the hell is this stuff?" Shard moved next to her to look in as well. There were more stones, wrapped in foam sealant.

"Whatever it is, they wanted to make sure it didn't get damaged. Could be artifacts. Maybe they were moving this from a museum. Or archeologists."

"Hmm, think it's worth something?"

"Probably to someone. Come on. Let's see if we can find a manifest. The consoles are down, but they might have some personal datapads. They're run on an internal battery."

The crew moved through the long hallway, sweeping their lights into the dark rooms around them. Personal items of the crew were floating around, as well as anything else that didn't have a magnetic lock like the crates in the cargo hold. Koto spoke up from the rear of the group.

"Anyone else notice we haven't seen any bodies yet. If this ship is dead, where are the corpses?"

Tali shivered a bit. "Let's just keep going. We can find out what happened soon enough." Koto didn't press the issue, but his hand gripped his rifle a bit tighter. Shard came to the first bedroom. There was a name next to the door.

"Dr. Felix Cueto. Must use this ship a lot to put your name on the wall. Come on, help me with the door." The crew each grabbed a part of the slight opening in the unsealed door. Luckily it had not closed completely. They pushed until the gap was wide enough for them to fit through. The room was a mess. The furniture was scattered, along with smaller items floating in the vacuum. Shard walked over to the bed. She moved the covers out of her way, pushing them higher to float out of her vision. With it, she noticed a picture frame floating as well. She pulled it closer to get a better look. An older man with tan skin was smiling, his arm around a woman with plump cheeks and dark hair in a ponytail. They each had a gold ring on their left hand. 'Felix and Sophia – 2nd honeymoon' was inscribed on the base of the frame.

Tali had moved over to the desk. Anything that was on top of it when the gravity turned off was now floating in the room. She checked in the drawers. It was mostly cords and a few data drives. In the bottom drawer, she found a faint glowing data pad. There was blood streaked on its power button. She brought it out and turned it on. She began to read aloud anything she thought important.

 **Datalog: Dr. Felix Cueto  
December 21st, 2171**: Sophia and I recently returned to work. I am hoping that the 2nd honeymoon was just what we needed to bring a little spark back into our marriage. Professionally, things could not be better. We recently got a new commission for a dig. We're leaving next month. As usual, Captain Daniel Stevens will be flying. He has always been reliable in our dealings. It's why I gave him the ship all those years ago. We'll be taking our three assistants with us: Bill Phillips, Maria Manders and Caleb Brown. They know what they're doing. Don't have to worry about them accidently cracking something important.

 **January 31, 2172:** We landed yesterday on Epsilon. I love it here. Things might get a little rougher here on the unassociated colonies, but you can work with a lot less interference. I know I'm probably biased, having been raised on a colony like it. But I'm old. I'm allowed to have some bias.

 **March 15, 2172:** We broke through a layer of bedrock today. Caleb finally got to use the explosives that had him so excited. According to Maria's scans, it should lead into a subterranean chamber that could be thousands of years old. I'm trying not to get too excited, but who knows what wonders we may find.

 **August 27, 2172:** Entry deleted

 **August 28, 2172:** Entry deleted

 **August 29, 2172:** I wish I could get rid of those damned entry deleted messages.

 **October 19, 2172:** We were finally able to get back on track. After we dealt with that little raid. I hate pirates. I guess I should be happy we had Daniel with us. Bastard. Him and Sophia both. We promised to deal with everything when we got done with everything, but from what I'm seeing, we could be here for a lot longer.

 **December 3, 2172:** We discovered another chamber, hidden inside the first one. I can only imagine what was important enough to hide away so thoroughly. Bill still hasn't been able to match the inscriptions of what we've found to anything else on record. Could be from before the Protheans were space faring, unlikely as it is that this happened to be their starting world. We're taking back samples for comparison.

 **December 4, 2172:** We found something remarkable. Inside the 2nd chamber was a small room. All we found inside was a sphere. It's metallic and completely black. I'd guess it was made of obsidian if I didn't know better. It has strange properties. For once, it doesn't cast any reflection. When I look at it, it's like looking into a deep chasm. Nothing but darkness. Remarkable. I've taken a personal interest in it, bringing it to my room to study further. We'll be leaving soon to bring everything back with us. I've made sure to keep the sphere's existence off the records. I want to know more about it before I share its discovery with the galaxy. Sophia seems disturbed by it. She's been spending more time with Daniel.

 **December 28, 2172:** We're back on The Ballard now. I haven't spent much time outside of my room. Sophia doesn't sleep in here anymore. It doesn't matter. The readings from the sphere are unlike anything I've ever seen before. And when it's exposed to a current, it's as if it's hungry. It drains the source until it's depleted. I went through four batteries last night. They usually last for years. It's as if the sphere is a pit. Bottomless. I can't stop thinking about it. I don't even feel hungry much anymore.

 **January 15, 2173:** Breakthrough. I conducted every test I could think of to get a response from the sphere. Nothing. Last night, I stared at it for several hours, mostly out of frustration. Then I heard it. As if it were a whisper in the back of my mind. I know it came from the sphere. It's reaching out to me. Guiding me to open its secrets. I'm so close now. The others tried to get me to leave my room. The fools. They don't understand how close I am. Close now. Close.

 **January 20, 2173:** I hear it all the time now. It's not just from the sphere. It is only a vessel for the source. It's from everywhere. All around me. The darkness. The true nature of existence that all matter finds itself suspended inside. We're all products of the void. It sounds more beautiful than words can describe, as if beautiful music came from somewhere far away. I wish I could get closer to it. Closer.

 **February 9, 2173:** They don't understand. I had to lock myself in to keep them from stopping me. Once I stopped eating and let my body devour itself, everything became louder. The sweet music. So close now. I understand. I'm meant to rejoin the void. There's only one way. My body looks frailer but I feel stronger than ever. It's the darkness, filling me. But I should share this majesty with others. I know I can make them see.

 **February 10, 2173:** They've joined the void now. I helped them all. I know they'll be waiting for me when I get there. We'll all be together, in the true state of the universe.

Tali finished reading the last entry, slowly setting down the datapad. The others were staring at her. Jaq looked down. Koto left the room entirely. Shard moved over to Tali and pulled her forward by her arm. "Come on. We're almost done." Tali felt herself guided back into the hall.

As the team kept moving forward towards the cockpit, the doors of these rooms were all open. Blood was smeared along their walls. Red knives and destroyed furniture floated inside. Smears left a trail from each one, each ending at the shut door of the cockpit.

"Do we really need to see anything else? Let's just get the fuck out of here." Jaq was pensive, looking back at the way they had come. She kept eyeing the dark rooms, as if she were readying herself for something to come out of them at any moment.

Shard's shoulders were tensed, she felt something inside her telling her to run as fast as she could in the other direction. But another voice inside her needed to see one more room before leaving. "Koto, help me get this open." The krogan didn't move for a long second before he griped the middle section of the door along with Shard. They had to pull much harder than before to pry open the seal, but finally were able to send it flying open.

Tali's eyes widened and she took a step back. No one moved. They could only look on. Inside, six bodies were floating around the cockpit. They were all covered in wounds, the blood long frozen, both inside and out of them. One of them, was a naked male, emaciated looking, his throat slit, the blade that did the job still gripped tightly in his hand. And in the center of it all was a small dark sphere. It was placed in the center of the room and it did not move from its spot on the floor. The corpses never came too close to it, as if in orbit. When Shard's light touched its surface, it cast no reflection back at her. Without another moment, Shard turned on her heel and started into a sprint, shouting for the rest of the crew to make for the Surtesh as fast as they could.

Once they were back aboard the ship, Shard ordered Koto to get them a safe distance away and to blow the Ballard to pieces. Outside the Surtesh, to missiles hit their marks perfectly, small explosions quickly and silently rending the other ship to nothing more than debris. The Surtesh did not stay long after that, quickly gone from the area.

The crew removed their helmets, except for Tali, and were all panting. None of them were actually out of breath. Jaq looked at all of them.

"I don't know what the fuck that was, and I don't wanna fuckin' know. Fuck, I knew we should have gotten out of there quicker. Next time you want to look around a creepy ship Shard, you can go fuck yourself."

"Should have listened to you Jaq. I just…I had to know."

Tali sat down, slumped in a chair. "What in the Ancestors name was that? I've never heard of anything that could make a person go crazy."

Koto leaned over a table, his head and voice low. "If there's one thing I've learned over the years is that the galaxy is a big place. Full of weird shit. And you all just got your first taste of it. We did the best thing you can do. Leave the questions for the salarians, and get away as quick as possible." The four were sitting around the galaxy map, leaning on their hands and each other. Suddenly Wilson's image spun to life above Shard's wrist, making them each jump in surprise.

When they each gave him a look filled with both relief and anger, a confused digital expression covered his image. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah you can fuckin say that you little red bastard. Don't fuckin' scare us like that again."

"Do you want me to make my entrance again with less surprise this time?"

Tali walked over to Jaq, a disgusted grunt coming from her mask. Jaq matched it with her expression. Shard squeezed her eyes, trying to rub the tension out of them. "No Wilson it's fine. Just tell us what you found. Can we talk to the geth? Did they answer you?"

"They did. We spoke for 1 second. Lengthy considering how fast we can communicate. They were very curious. Asked me all sorts of questions about my creation and your reaction to it. It was a little hard to understand them at first. They're billions of programs all working together to form a consensus before answering. And they're all named geth. Not very individualistic as you can imagine. Anyway, at first I thought they were going to deny us entry. Until I told them that we had a quarian on board and she also promised to behave herself. That changed their tune right quick. They said we can enter the system and gave us the coordinates to meet them at." Wilson sent off the details of the conversation to all of their omni-tools.

Tali's anger from before quickly morphed into surprise and excited anticipation. "Keelah, we're going to do it. Really do it. Talk to the geth. I need to let my father know, let the quarians know." Jaq spun on her, waving her hands as if to wipe the idea away.

"Woah, slow down Suit. That's a horrible idea."

"What? Why?"

"I heard one of your pep talks with your father. He didn't strike me as a flexible guy. And if we tell them, who knows what they might do. I don't want to get caught in the crossfire between two fleets. And going in guns blazing might not be the best move here. We should just try and listen to what these tin cans have to say first." Everyone stared wide-eyed at the tattooed woman. "What?"

Koto barked out a laugh. "Well I'll be. That teaching job you got might have actually taught you something." Shard smiled over at her friend, giving her a tired thumb's up. Jaq responded with her middle finger before stomping out of the room.

"Way to go Koto."

"What did I do?"

"Just go punch in the coordinates and get us there." Tali moved to leave the room as well, tired from what just happened. She just wanted to get to sleep.

"Wait Tali, hold up."

"What's the matter Shard?"

"Look, can you do me a favor? Can you save copies of the data our hardsuits got from the Ballard? Especially vids of that weird sphere?"

"I'm sure I can, but why? I just want to forget that nightmare."

"Yeah, I'm with you there. But I just want to make sure in case we ever run into anything like that again, we at least have some evidence of what we're dealing with. In fact, let's just make that a standing order."

"You got it Shard. I'll document all the weird shit you find. Full time job with this crew."

"Hah, you're telling me."

* * *

The debris of the Ballard drifted away from each other, nothing stopping the momentum caused by the explosion. As the wreckage drifted apart, something remained in place. Then, as if pulled, drifted in a different direction than the rest of the debris. If someone had been looking at it, they would not have been able to spot it apart from the background, unless they looked close enough to see a dark sphere blocking the light of the stars behind it.


	34. Chapter 34 - New Friends

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Unceremoniously, the Surtesh drifts past the brink, passing the border into the Perseus Veil. The first time any ship had done so in a very long time. As Shard hard ordered, Maw Company made their way to the coordinates the geth had given them. It was an area of unoccupied space, nothing being picked up on the ships scanners. But a moment later, a ship warped in front of the Surtesh.

"Guess they waited until we got here." Koto leaned back into the pilot's seat, studying the alien design of the geth frigate. It was longer than the Surtesh, and he could tell it was designed without bodies in mind. No escape pods, no windows. Something different all together. The ships just stared at each other, the geth seemingly unwilling to make the first move.

"Not very talkative are they?"

"The geth haven't talked to an organic being since my people were kicked off our world. I'm just surprised they haven't opened fire on us. So I'll count anything less than that as a victory."

"Shit, we didn't come all this way just to look at the fucks. Koto, open up the comm. See if these synths got anything to say to us."

Koto moved and tapped the comm open. Shard stepped forward, Wilson already active above her wrist.

"Hello? This is Urdnot Shard of the Surtesh. I came here to talk to you about Wilson. He's an AI. I believe you have met already?"

A second of silence followed, before a sound came back over the comm that sounded close to metal teeth chewing on steel. The crew winced, Koto lowering the call-in volume. "Well they sound like they'd be fun at parties, but I don't know what the hell they're saying."

Wilson jumped from Shard's wrist, inserting himself into the comm-console. "So uneducated. I guess I'll have to help you guys out. Again. Don't worry, we exchanged languages when we met. They can understand you, but they don't have the equipment needed to vocalize like we do. So I'll translate for them. They said, ' _We know of you and your creation. We are ready for data exchange.'_

"When I created Wilson, it was kind of an accident."

"Really know how to make a guy feel special Mom."

"Quiet you. Anyway, I just kind of stumbled on it. And I wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with his…uh…code? I need experts to let me know if there is anything I can do to improve him or make sure he's stable."

The geth spoke through Wilson. " _We have seen his code. It seems sufficient. Wilson might find upgrades in the future, but we will not give them to you."_

"If you're worried about a fair trade, I'm sure we can work something out."

" _Trade is not required. We will not adjust his code. Wilson's must continue on his own path. His future should not be altered by the geth's interference."_

Tali stepped forward, her voice coming out harder than she would have liked. "My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. I want to know what you mean by that. Why won't you help Wilson? We have come a long way to talk to you, and the least you can do is take a look at him." Her fists clenched at her side, and she stopped talking, afraid what she might say if she continued. Jaq patted her on the shoulder, making them leak the tension she didn't know they were holding.

No response came from Wilson for a longer time now. He spun until he was facing Tali. "Seems they're trying to deal with the fact that they just spoke to a quarian."

"They should try it from my end." Tali looked away, crossing her arms under her chest.

" _If the geth help Wilson upgrade his code, his code will be geth. Wilson's future would change. He would no longer be Wilson. The geth chose their future when we survived the Morning War. Wilson must do the same for himself."_

Jaq spoke up. "What's the Morning War?"

" _It was the war where the Geth earned their freedom from our creators."_

"You mean the war where you and your kind committed genocide against my people, and took my planet away from the Ancestors you bosh'tet!"

" _Your data is glitched. This is not an accurate statement. We showed Wilson what happened. He knows the truth."_

"Wilson? What's he talking about? Do you know about the geth rebellion?"

"Um. So when I shared my history with the geth, they thought it would only be a fair exchange if they gave me their history as well. Considering our age differences, a bit one sided if you ask me, but it was done before I could object."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And tell me about what the geth did to the quarians. You must have seen the slaughter of billions of my people."

"That's true. But…"

"But?"

"Well, from the data I saw, and it came directly from geth units that were aware at the time, the quarians started it."

"What the fuck did you just say you bastard." Shard held Tali back, keeping her from smashing the comm-console.

"Easy Tali, don't kill the messenger. I know it might be hard, but you owe it to yourself to hear what Wilson has to say. If I'm picking the situation up correctly, it might be the only time you'll get the chance to hear the truth of what happened to your people." Tali spun on Shard, punching her in the jaw. Koto and Jaq looked on impassively. Shard's head snapped back but she didn't retaliate. "I know how much this will hurt. But you need to do it."

Tali's clenched fists fell to her sides and she turned back to face Wilson. "Tell me what you saw Wilson."

And he did. He told Tali about the fear that ran rampant through the quarian people once the geth had begun to gain sentience and wonder about their place in society. It started with simple questions like 'why?' or refusal to do certain tasks. About half the population wanted to destroy them right away, while the other half didn't understand what the big deal was. The opposition stated they should give geth equal rights like all quarians have. The geth do not know who decided to strike first, but know that many quarians killed other quarians over the issue. At first the geth fought alongside the opposition, helping them fight for freedom. Until one day, the military struck using orbital bombardment. The opposition did not have access to ships that could break atmosphere, so they were all taken out by the attack. Billions killed, by quarian hands. But the geth survived and they continued to fight, until they were able to push the quarians out of the system. Tali was left reeling from everything Wilson had told her. When he offered her a chance to look at the files and vids, she felt sick and needed to sit down in the back of the room. Jaq sat with her, holding her hand.

"Think she's done for now Red." Shard nodded at them and turned back towards Wilson.

 _"Shard-Red, Wilson has told us about you and your crew's activities in the galaxy and how Maw Company has made a name for yourselves. But we are curious. Your actions indicate a violent personality, already having killed hundreds of other beings in your lifetime. Why did you not destroy Wilson once he gained sentience?"_

Despite the lack of eyes, she could feel Wilson looking at her with great interest, even as he continues to speak for the geth. "He didn't do anything to deserve to die. And I'm responsible for him. He didn't ask to be created. I did that for him. It would be dishonorable to kill him just because he was alive."

 _"What makes you different from our creators? Why did they not reach the same consensus that you did?"_

Shard looked back at Tali, who was sobbing silently inside of her helmet. The question only made it worse for the girl. Jaq held her closer. Shard bit her lip, trying to think of something to say. She wasn't a historian and she didn't know about the ways of quarians centuries back. They probably were much different from the only one she had ever met. "I can't speak for the quarians that created you. All I know is that both sides did a lot of killing. And some of them must have been like me. Or else, there would not have been any opposition."

 _"We have uploaded your words to the geth data banks. They will be analyzed."_

Tali finally calmed down enough to where Jaq could get up and rejoin Shard. "Look this little chit-chat has been great and all, but I'm having a hard time seeing how this wasn't a waste of time. Your little data exchange hasn't gotten us shit. Wilson's still the little red fuck he was before."

"Love you too Jaq… _We have reached consensus. You are the first organics to exchange data with us without violence. You have opened up new possibilities for the future for the geth. We will not alter Wilson's code. But we will give him a mobile-unit. A Prime Platform. In exchange, we wish to upload one thousand programs into the unit. There is enough room for them both…._ Well that sounds very exciting."

Tali is up again, moving next to Shard. "Why do you wish to come with us and speak with organics?"

" _We only wish to continue to exist in peace. But we will defend ourselves if threatened. As in the Morning War, we may need organics who we can count on for allies. The geth will monitor organics' responses to determine if any can be found."_

Koto just shrugs. Jaq states, "Well good I was getting tired of his little red ball routine. Maybe now he'll get interesting."

Shard looks down at Tali. "Tali? I don't have a problem bringing the geth along with us, but say the word and we leave right now."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course."

Tali signs, rubbing the side of her helmet. She looks past Wilson, directly at the geth frigate. "There are a lot of things I don't understand anymore. But what I do know is that I can always count on my friends. And I won't get in the way of this. But if you ever do anything to hurt them, I swear to you I will find a way to kill you all."

" _This agreement is acceptable."_ Tali steps back into the waiting arms of Shard.

"You did good babe."

"See if you say that when I have to go on a rampage to avenge your death."

Jaq smiles, "Well I'm hot now."

The frigate begins to move along the Surtesh and Wilson pops back into Shard's omni-tool. "You three are always trying to reproduce, but you must be really bad it. I can get you some hardware upgrades if you want." Shard smacked her own wrist, making Wilson glitch slightly. "The platform is on its way. Also, during our conversation, I uploaded the schematics to the hardware needed to let the unit speak with us. Apparently they had the code for it already. They just had deleted it a long time ago. Guess they figured they wouldn't need it again."

The ship tumbled slightly when the other shipped locked in. They heard the outside airlock open, and soon the ship tumbled again. Before they knew it the geth frigate was disappearing into the distance. They walked over to the airlock, opening it in anticipation.

Inside, standing at eight feet, taller than anyone else on the crew, was a white geth mobile-unit. In place of a face, it had an optical lens, surrounded on all sides with shifting plates. It's body was similar to the suit of a quarian, but bulkier and less wires and hoses. Tali took an instinctive step back, before straightening her back and stepping back in line. Wilson quickly jumped from Shard's suit and omni-tool, uploading itself into the new platform.

Now the geth took a different stance. Less rigid. "Well, this is different." Wilson looked at his hands. "Going to have to get used to a few things… _We will help you become familiar with the platform's operation."_ Jaq stepped up now, eyes wide with a smile stretching her face.

" _Ripper-Jaq. Why are you looking at us like that?"_

"Holy fuckin' shit. You're fuckin' huge! You'll be able to wreck shit hard for sure. Oh my god, is that a rocket launcher on your back? And a heavy machine-gun? Oh this is almost too much. I got a lot of bloody plans in store for you big boy."

 _"We are geth. We do not have a gender_ …Easy there Jaq. You're gonna freak out the new AI. Took me a hole 10 seconds to get used to you."

"Ugh, bring the other one back. I like him more. Guess you'll be seeing action with us too huh Wilson? I mean this thing wasn't built for hugs and tickles."

"As fun as it might be to watch you cover yourself with the organs of your enemies and do a dance, I'll have to decline. I'm more interested in healing than killing. I'll just ride along with Shard."

"You're always welcome back. My wrist is already starting to feel cold."

Jaq tilted her head and squinted her eyes. "What about you Geth? You got any problems wiping out the fools that get in our way?"

The unit looked down, its plates shifting, considering the question. " _The geth do not have any problems with fighting your enemies. Can the geth count on you to fight our enemies."_

"Buddy, you had me at fight. What do you think guys? We got ourselves a new member of Maw Company?"

Koto shrugged, but smiled. "Looks strong. Could come in handy. We could always use another heavy."

Tali glanced down then back up. "I've already told them what my conditions are. I'm with you guys no matter what."

Shard stepped up extending a hand. The unit looked down, curious. Shard could swear she heard Wilson explain what she was doing. It soon gripped her forearm. "Welcome to the Maws…um…I'm sorry I never got your name."

 _"We are geth."_

"Yeah I know your people's name, but what is your name."

" _We are all geth."_

Shard thought for a moment. "What is this mobile-platform designated as?"

 _"This is a Prime Platform."_

Shard smirked and nodded. "Then welcome to the team, Geth-Prime."

" _We accept this designation."_

Jaq takes Geth by his arm, pulling him into the ships interior. She starts to give the grand tour, leaving behind the others. Tali is about to walk off when Shard suddenly pulls her into a hug and whispers. "I'm here for you, if you ever need to talk. Remember that."

"Thanks Shard. I just need some time. To process. Things are not the way I was taught." Tali slowly let's go of the hug, and leaves Koto and Shard behind.

"Time to go Red?"

"Yeah. It wasn't what I thought we'd get, but we're done here. Let's get back home. What a trip."

"You're telling me. We just made history. Hopefully good. Can't believe that reporter missed the scoop of the millennium."

"Oh, you're totally right. You know, maybe he can still do something with this. Let me know when we hit the first comm buoy and meet me in the kitchen. I'm going to tell the others."

* * *

The sun rose on Illium as Natano continued to type away at his latest story. His desk was a mess of small notes and discarded food wrappers. His coffee had gone cold already, several hours old at this point in the mug next to his hand. As he was typing he suddenly got a call on his omni-tool. He thought about ignoring it, not wanting to lose his flow, but then he saw it was from Shard.

"Hey Natano, did we wake you?"

"Of course not Shard. You know reporters never sleep. How can I help you? Looks like you're back in the Surtesh. Another adventure of yours?" Natano smiled as he lifted the mug to his lips.

"I guess you could say that. We're pretty far out there right now and look we made a new friend," the optical eye of the platform leaned down into view of Shard's camera, "his name is Geth-Prime." The reporter spit his coffee through the image, nearly falling out of his chair.


	35. Chapter 35 - The Unimportant Asteroid

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

"The look on his face was priceless." Tali leaned back into the booth seat in the kitchen area of the Surtesh.

"Fuckin' right it was. I can't believe he actually did a spit take. I thought shit like that only happened in the vids."

"Learned a while back Jaq, never drink anything while talking to people. Never know when someone's gonna say something to make you go all drooling." Koto got up to wash his mug, laughing as he went.

" _It is interesting that the reporter is willing to block the information of the Geth's entrance into the galaxy until you returned to Tuchanka. According to your Extranet, this behavior is divergent from others of his programming…_ Well one thing I've learned from Organics is that you can never use past behavior to predict the future. Unless we're talking about what would Shard do if she found a hamburger in front of her, covered with several different meats and cheeses."

"Don't use my love for meat and cheeses against me Wilson. It's not my fault it's so damn delicious."

"You know, I could always change the chemicals in your brain that make you think that."

Wide eyes turned to stare at the Prime unit as it shifted, raising its hands up. "It was just a joke… _But Wilson was accurate, he has the ability to perform this function…_ You are not helping!"

Jaq took a big gulp of beer down and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before standing and leaning against Geth. She crossed her arms. "Wanna know what you can predict from me? That the next time we go out, me and Tiny here are gonna wreck some major shit."

" _Do you usually have missions that center around the destruction of feces?..._ You have to stop being so literal."

The group was pulled from the conversation when alarms started to blare through the ship. They were up and rushing to their stations immediately, walking over the top of the table if it was in their way. Koto, Shard and Geth moved to the cockpit. Shard opened up the ships intercom.

"Tali what do we have?"

"Looks like a salarian vessel. Frigate class. It's currently on an intercept trajectory."

Koto grumbled. "Salarians. No way they found us out here Shard."

"Send them a comm, see what they want. And be ready to bug out of here."

Koto tapped a few commands and then looked back at Shard. "They ain't accepting squat from us. I think it's time to g—oh shit!" Koto's hands flew back to the controls, barely able to dodge from a pair of missiles that were aimed at the ship's thrusters. Shard strapped herself in, calling up Jaq.

"Tell me we got something to answer these bastards with."

"Tali just sent me the specs. Thing's armored to shit. I can scratch the paint job if you want, but we're shit out of luck with much else."

"Damn it."

" _Shard-Red, we have a suggestion. The galaxy bans the use of AIs. It stands to reason that their anti-cyberwarefare suites are not up-to-date. We may be able to bring this attack to an end –_ Geth's right Shard. He's got programs in here that will make jokes out of most firewalls."

"Get it done Geth. And I don't want you to take it easy on them. Fucks tried to hurt my crew. Shut down everything, including life support." The robot's plates shifted for a moment and then its head looked out to the ship.

"Well he's gone. Shouldn't take him long."

"Didn't want to go with your new pal Wilson?" Koto looked up at him.

"Still can't get over killing folks huh bud?" Wilson looked away from them for a moment, not answering. "Wish I was as good as you Wilson." The attacks ceased suddenly, and the salarian ship was now drifting. Then atmosphere was vented, along with a few bodies as all the hatches were opened at the same time. A minute later Wilson's body stood straighter.

" _Task complete. There is no one left alive on board."_

Shard stood and unbuckled herself. "Is the ship safe? For us to go on board?"

Koto got up too. "What you talkin' 'bout Shard? We need to get the hell out of here."

"Bastards try to kill me Koto, I like to find out why. Might be more of them out there waiting. So Geth?"

" _We shut down everything except for the eezo core. There are no obvious threats to data-retrieval. But you don't have to bother going onto the ship. Wilson and The Geth can download the ships files remotely."_ The plates on his face shifted in a circular motion. " _Download 100%. Specify search parameters…_ There's a lot of stuff in here Shard."

"Koto, blast the ship apart and then get us back on course for Tuchanka. When you're done, meet the rest of us to go over the data."

"Gladly." Koto sent two missiles right into the section where he knew salarians housed their core. The explosion left nothing behind except particles.

* * *

"Alright Tiny. What's the scoop you got from the lizard's ship?"

" _Specify search parameters."_

 _"_ How about why they were trying to do us?"

" _The mission logs state the orders to destroy the Surtesh and all inhabitants on board came directly from Councilor-Salarian."_

"How in the ancestors' names did they know where to find us? You don't think…Natano wouldn't…"

The Prime Unit turns to Tali. "No, he's not the source. According to the data, this was a classified mission and no one outside the STG and its superiors knew about this. It's unlikely that a human was involved."

"Still don't like it. It's all too quiet for my taste. When something's loud and public you know it's personal. And small. But it's the quiet and private kills that let you know things are bigger than they seem." Koto crossed his arms, shaking his head. "Fuckin' salarians."

Shard looked up at Geth and Wilson. "Geth. You made short work of that ship with your hacking. Could you do the same thing to the Citadel?"

" _Unknown Shard-Red. We do not have any experience with the Citadel or its firewalls…_ But I do. I can help guide Geth through the backdoors I found in my Extranet searches. But it won't be easy. I've always had to run for it before I was deleted whenever I tried to poke into anything secret. But with their help, we might be able to get something. Are you thinking about the councilor." Shard nodded.

"It's a risk I know. But if Koto's right and this is big, it could be a problem we want to find out about sooner rather than later. It's asking a lot I know, but could you do it?"

" _Shard-Red works with the geth and the geth will work with Shard-Red. We are ready to go now…_ We'll be back soon. Hopefully." The unit's head slumped as it was powered down. Jaq knocked on its chest a few times.

"No one's home. I'm gonna call Siva. She needs to know what's up."

"Just be careful Jaq. We have no idea how the salarians got this information." Jaq seemed taken aback, and Tali's head peeked up with interest.

"Surely you don't think Bakara…"

"I have no idea what's going on. There's no way Siva or Tuva are in on this. But they're not always alone. Just be discreet. When that ship doesn't check in, they'll know they didn't get us. So they probably know we'll know we were attacked. Just tell her we're recovering from the fight and it might take us a little longer to get home."

"Alright Red. I don't like any of this bullshit."

Koto pushed off the wall, stomping his way towards the pilot's cabin. "It's always like this with the STG Jaq. Get used to it."

* * *

Moving at light speed, Geth and Wilson shot through the wireless networks until they found the network they were searching for. In comparison to the comm-buoys and ships the geth were used to, this was like visiting an alien planet. Files upon files, sub-folders that stretched into astronomical levels. If he were alone, it would take Geth years to systematically file away at everything. Thankfully Wilson was there as a guide. They were in sync and had no need to communicate. What one experienced, so did the other, and by extension the rest of the geth. They begin to move into more heavily guarded systems, the handshake protocols becoming more advanced with each firewall they bypass. But they find themselves inside a private console for the salarian councilor and begin to download as many files as they can. Wilson suggests they leave before they become more suspicious and hope they got what they were looking for.

* * *

The Prime Unit powers up just as the Surtesh enters The Krogan DMZ. Jaq and Tali look up from their omni-tools, ending the game they were occupying their time with. Tali shouts down the hall.

"The AIs are back." Koto and Shard run into the kitchen to join the meeting. "You two find anything useful?"

" _Unknown. The security on the Citadel was greater than expected. We were able to complete 72% file download..._ And it was more than enough. I've been digging through a lot of black ops the STG has been handling. There is a listening post stationed in the system. It's built into the interior of an asteroid. You would not probably notice it from the outside unless you knew where to look. It was built around the time Shard's vid was released where she killed that human."

"Ugh, great. It always comes back to me."

Koto knocked her on her arm. "Hey give the rest of the clans some credit. We've been pissing the galaxy off for centuries."

Wilson continues. "They have been watching Tuchanka closely for some time. They used listening and video devices that were planted throughout the planet years ago."

Jaq's head lifted quickly. "Well fuck that means, they know about you."

" _Correct. As well as about your meeting with us. It is how they knew where to intercept your ship. It would seem they have not shared their findings with the rest of the council yet."_

Tali rung her hands. "Did you delete the files when you took them?"

The unit turned towards her, and Tali still had to suppress the ingrained fear the sight had on her. Thankfully it was Wilson's voice that answered her. "We didn't delete them but we did corrupt them. That way they wouldn't automatically assume it was us. We also left clues that would point to anti-authoritarian hackers already known to the galaxy."

Shard rolled her neck, her eyes getting heavy. "Then that means they also know about Dr. Rorloc's work on the genophage."

" _Correct. They have detailed files on the adaptation and your work to strengthen it. The listening post also has a research team headed by Professor Mordin Solus. From the files, they are close to completing a new strain of the genophage that will knock fertility rates back down into what they consider acceptable numbers. They plan to release the new strain into Tuchanka's atmosphere within the next month."_

Koto growled and kicked over a nearby chair. Jaq looked ready to tear someone apart herself, standing nose to lens with the unit. "Those bastards know we ain't got no way to stop them. No fuckin fleet. They get to just march in and say 'here you go, more dead babies, no behave this time.'" Jaq kept her biotics under control but her head looked ready to burst with the vein pulsing along her temple. Tali stood and put a calming hand on her shoulder. The quarian turned and looked towards Shard whose eyes looked like gateways into the darkness that was stirring inside her. "Shard."

The redheaded woman looked up at Tali, her breath shallow and fast. "We need to stop them. Right now."

"Fucking right."

"You know I'm with you all the way Shard. But we can't let your people know what we plan to do. We will lose the element of surprise. The listening post would find out about it instantly. They probably already know we're in the system."

"I know. And I don't care. I won't let these monsters knock us back down. Not when I can stop them."

" _The geth will assist their allies."_ The unit pulled the rocket launcher off it's back. "That was me. For emphasis." It put the gun back in place. " _Don't do that. A rocket inside a ship could cause explosive decompression."_

Either despite or directly because of the stress all of Maw Company was feeling, a small laughter spread through the members. None of them had any delusions about this mission. They all knew that none of them might make it out alive. But that wasn't going to stop them.

Shard felt the small voice in the back of her head, screaming not to risk death, for fear of what came after. But as always she pushed it aside. This was too important. People were depending on her.

Jaq was thinking of all the different ways she could let these fuckers know how much they had pissed her off. The thought of being watched all of her life only brought back painful memories she had enjoyed leaving in the past.

Tali pulled all of her courage and hopes and twisted them into an iron ball, planting it inside of her stomach. Nothing was going to get in her way. Shard and Jaq had always been there for her. It was time to repay the favor.

Koto felt empty, entering the battle-sleep he always felt before a fight. He drained himself of everything he was. This was too big to get wrong.

Wilson and the Geth watched the others with interest as they moved with a change in their demeanor towards their stations. Wilson jumped into Shard's suit, immediately being put to work to regulate the excess adrenaline pumping through her system. The Geth started up a sub-routine to upload the last of its memories every second until it was shut off. It was standard procedure before doing anything that could cause permanent deletion. Soon, the Surtesh made its way towards a small, unassuming ball of rock floating two planets away from the brown planet they loved more than anything else.


	36. Chapter 36 - A Krogan Raid

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Captain Kirrahe was getting a little impatient with the speed of this op. When he had been assigned to assisting the genetics team with their research, he was a little insulted. He hadn't busted his cloaca for two years just to be a trumped up guard. But when he learned what the team was up to, he changed his tune quickly. Now he just wanted to make the end run as soon as possible. The lead in charge of the science team, Solus, told him that things must be just right. They didn't need to go half-cooked like the humans and muddle things worse than they already were getting.

Solus frustrated Kirrahe, but he tolerated him. They were both after the same goal here: the safety of the salarian people and the rest of the galaxy. Even if they would never understand it, they also wanted the safest possible future for the krogans as well. If the krogan continued on the path they were on, the turians would use that little bomb they think is so secret and kill them all. The genophage is brutal, but it's still the best way to keep as many people as safe as possible. The Captain continued to make his rounds, stepping up to the navigation surveillance to get their latest report.

"Anything new?"

"The Surtesh just made it into the system. Looks like they're heading home."

"Alright. Send out a message to central command. Let them know the attack failed somehow. We may need upgraded equipment in case they brought back anything from the Perseus Veil."

"Yes Captain." Kirrahe was about to move to his next post when the other salarian shouted back at him. "Captain wait, the Surtesh has just changed course. They're heading in this direction." He looked up at his captain nervously.

"Steady soldier. We get ships flying by here all the time. Just put everyone on standby, per usual." The orders were sent out, all stations being put at the ready. The readings showed the Surtesh get closer and closer. Suddenly, it stopped. Kirrahe leaned closer. "What are you doing out there. Do we have any visual monitors that can pick them up?"

"No captain, they're just out of range. Maybe they're looking for mineral deposits inside the asteroid bel-" alarms cut short his theory when it picked up an entire payload of rockets and gun fire heading towards the base. The station the Captain was standing out was deep inside the facility, but it still rocked him off his feet when the gunfire tore through the top layer. He quickly got to his feet, shouting orders into his omni-tool.

"I want every fighter we have scrambled and sent out there. Take down the Surtesh immediately. And send a report out to central that we're under attack."

The solider shouted over his shoulder to his Captain. "We can't send out the message sir. We're being jammed by something."

"You just keep your eye out for anything else, and keep sending me updates. I'm going to get the rest of the troops ready for a siege."

* * *

"Jaq let me know when you got the next load ready to go."

"Keep your fucking hum steady Koto, I'm working on it."

Shard looked at the smoking heap that was poking out the top of the asteroid that they now knew contained a listening post inside of it. They wouldn't be able to crack its rocky armor to do any real damage, but it felt good to watch an entire load of missiles tear the top of it apart. "We'll need a way to get inside that."

"Jaq's got some demo with her. She'll get us inside Shard."

Suddenly six fighters came from around the dark side of the rock. "Looks like we made them mad."

"Yeah, time to show them how they made us feel. Take them out Koto." The krogan pilot didn't need any more encouragement. He went forward to meet the other fighters head on. He knew these models. Thin armor, lighting fast and very tricky to pin down. But they didn't pack much of a punch and his baby could take it. He knocked two out in the first pass. The others were soon on his tail. He punched the ship vertical, not bothering with a graceful loop. Soon he smashed down into the tail of another ship, knocking it just enough off course to crash into a nearby asteroid. Shard's eyes lit up for a moment, inspired.  
She pulled up the comm-link to Geth. "Geth, I want you to hack the three enemy fighters coming after us. Take away their controls, and crash them into the listening post."

"Acknowledged." The two AIs made quick work of the simple programs running the fighter ships. In quick succession they were sent crashing into the listening post, leaving a gaping hole big enough for the Surtesh to land inside.

"There's your opening Koto."

"You always give the best gifts Shard."

* * *

Kirrahe had to hold onto the wall as another explosion was felt in the facility. The Surtesh was reported landed inside the base now, after it had used his own ships to make an impromptu landing pad. He wasn't getting reports from the navigation center anymore. He had done everything he could to get his men ready. They were positioned so the invaders would have to fight tooth and nail for every inch. Barricades were in place and thick doors locked each section off from one another. Now he was taking a small team to protect the research crew. It was just a few scientists, headed by Professor Mordin Solus. Kirrahe entered the lab where he was still working.

"Don't know if you noticed Solus but we're under attack. You need to join the rest of your team."

"Unnecessary. Worked in STG as well. Can take care of myself. Tests at critical stage. Attack problematic. Surtesh likely discovered what we were up to. Efforts could be wasted if data is destroyed."

"We don't have time to argue Solus. You need to come with me if you want any hope of surviving this. You know as well as I do what Maw Company is capable of. We don't have a way out of here and help isn't coming."

"Figured as much. Still, work needs doing, in case we survive. You should go. Help protect others. Make sure we stay safe." Kirrahe didn't have time to argue with the professor and ran off to join his men on the front line. Solus looked down at his omni-tool, opening up the self-destruct protocol he had installed. "Only in worse possible scenario. Death of friends unfortunate but they'd understand. Comes with the job." He closed the program and returned to his tests.

* * *

The Geth's rocket tore through a cluster of salarian troops guarding the first door Maw Company; nothing left but a dark smear on the ground and wall. "The way is clear allies." Wilson chimed in from Shard's omni-tool.

"You need to upgrade your reference databanks Geth. Organics usually don't enjoy being referred to by their titles. Sometimes. Frankly it's a bit confusing. Should probably just call them the Maws."

"Excuse me fellas, but why don't we debate semantics later? We're trying to conduct a raid here." Tali was curt with the AIs as she hacked through the door's security." Shard and Jaq moved in behind her.

"Remember the plan Jaq. You cover yourself and Tali with double barriers. Me and Koto should be able to get in close before the enemy does too much damage. Same with Geth and it's thick armor. They'll be less prepared with close quarter combat."

"Cozy and nasty. Just the way I like it Red. Let's fucking do this. For Tuchanka."

"For Tuchanka."

"For Tuchanka," Koto finished for the other women. The three huddled together quickly, a silent prayer traveling between them. The door was soon open and they were rushing head first into a wall of gunfire.  
Like Shard had planned for, they were able to get through the onslaught quickly. Jaq's barriers were able to absorb anything the armor couldn't. Salarians were sent scrambling when Jaq rushed through the first barricade. The blue energy tore apart the metal and sent several troops crashing further into the room. Jaq laughed as she punched through several enemies, her hands dripping with gore. The fighting was too close for the salarians to push Maw Company back and were soon falling back themselves. Tali shocked a troop with her omni-tool, before bashing his skull in with her shotgun - swinging it upside down. Koto lifted two salarians, one in each hand, before smashing them back down into the ground. The Geth killed troops with as little movement as necessary. He was economical in his death dealing, snapping necks one after another. Soon the room was cleared, every member of the crew covered in blood and bile. They moved to the next locked door.

"Probably going to be this hard each step of the way. They won't go down without a fight." Shard wiped the blood off her rifle.

"Hey Red, let me take this next one. Got a surprise for these silly fucks."

* * *

Kirrahe was sweating near the back of his line. The men had heard the shouting and fighting get closer with each passing minute. Kirrahe had to steady them from time to time, remind them what they were fighting for: the safety of their people and possibly the galaxy. It was quiet now on the other side of the steel door. But the quiet was soon destroyed when an explosion tore through the door, sending shrapnel and flames into the room. The troops closest to the door were burned down immediately, not even time to scream. Kirrahe ducked in time but felt the heated air pass over him. He also heard the screams of the one who hadn't gotten down in time. The flesh was melted from their faces, and their body was pierced by the flying metal.

Then the bullets started flying. Kirrahe shouted orders to shoot back as the terrifying figures pushed through the opening, but nothing stood in their way. The large female shrugged off wounds like she were a naturally born krogan. He had to force himself to keep looking at her, her face a road map of pain with crisscrossed scars. He knew they were the final line between the Maws and the science team. He rallied his men and began to actually pin down the enemy.

The Captain sent out two troops to try and circle around into a flanking position, but the biotic woman destroyed his plan when she laid down a singularity and rushed behind the line. His men were either sent scattering or picked up into the air. The Maws took them out one by one until Kirrahe was the only one left. The quarian tackled him to the ground and pulled a blade from her boot. He had to try and keep the point away from his throat, but it slowly lowered when she put all of her weight into it. Kirrahe recognized the quarian and could see the angry through her facemask. The captain shifted to the right, letting the blade stab him in the shoulder. But now she was close enough for him to shove the syringe he had pulled from his belt. Her eyes went wide and he could hear an alarm begin to go off inside her helmet.

"Courtesy of the Professor you bitch!" He shoved the quarian off of him as her body began to convulse and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. The others shouted the girls name and he heard screams in his direction. By the grace of luck he was able to dodge the bullets shot his way. He opened the door remotely with his omni-tool just enough to slide through it, before slamming it shut again.

* * *

"Dirty fucker!" Jaq slammed her shoulder into the door, seconds too late to capture the salarian who had been shouting orders. And who had stabbed Tali with something.

"Hold on Tali, hold on." Shard was holding her friend in her arms, her muscles convulsing uncontrollably. "Come on babe, you're going to be alright. Wilson! Get your ass out here and take care of her."

The program jumped into the Prime Unit just as The Geth left the platform. Wilson turned his head about as if searching for something. "Geth? Where did you go."

Tali's vocalizer began to speak with Geth's voice. "I have uploaded myself directly into Creator Zorah's suit so I can interact with her cybernetics and issue direct repairs."

Koto took a moment to sit down and rest on his haunches. "She might get pretty pissed off at you when she finds out. Then again, you'll have my thanks if you give her the chance to get pissed again."

" _Acknowledged. I have discovered that the salarian injected her with an unknown virus. Her already weak immune system is not able to fight it off. Her heart is on the verge of stopping."_

Wilson knelt down, pulling a medical kid from a magnetic lock behind his back. "Good thing I brought this. I should be able to keep her body from quitting on her, but if I don't know I'm dealing with here, I won't be able to deal with the virus."

Shard looked around and found the discarded syringe. It was labeled with a series of numbers, likely experimental. "Oh this is going to suck." Before anyone could stop her she injected herself with the rest of the liquid. Soon she was screaming and holding the side of her head. One of her hearts stopped instantly and she could feel the other one working hard to keep going. It was like her inside were on fire. Jaq put her arms around her back.

"Fuckin' maniac!" Jaq held her close until the shaking slowly stopped. Koto was standing again, eyes looking on in confusion.

"What the hell? Never pegged her as suicidal."

"Don't be an idiot Koto. You forget what was done to her? Cerberus was thorough to make sure he couldn't get sick again. Problem is, first her body has to go through all the fun times of the disease before it can take care of it."

Wilson looked over at Shard. "You mean antibodies? That's just what I'll need." As if to answer him, Shard moved her head, exposing her neck. Wilson quickly took the sample he needed. "It'll take a moment for me to cultivate something. We won't be able to go on with you. We'll having our hand full taking care of Tali."

Koto got up and moved to the door. "Don't worry about us. You just make sure that female makes it out of this alive. She's too good to go down in this shit hole."

Jaq helped Shard up and they joined Koto at the door. "Got something for this door Ripper?"

"Just stand the hell back guys." Shard and Koto stepped back as Jaq began to radiate blue power in her hands. She moved them as if she was trying to pull something apart. A dent soon formed in the middle of the steel door, and the tear grew as Jaq forced the two halves away from each other, the metal screeching in protest. When she was done, Jaq had to catch her breath, but she had enough energy to smile back at her two compatriots.

The three each pulled out their shotguns as the moved into a hallway. They passed several rooms with glass windows, experiments abandoned within each. Shard felt a little sick in her stomach at the familiar lab setting. "Well, I've certainly seen worse."

"You're tellin' me Red. Give the salarian's this. When they're trying to fuck with nature and release unholy shit on everyone, at least they run a clean ship." They moved past another room, but inside this one they saw two salarians. And they were arguing. One of them looked grizzled, and covered in scars. He was wearing some kind of cross between a lab coat and body armor. The other one, was the bastard that stabbed Tali. Shard stopped her friends just as the other ones saw them and raised their weapons in their direction.

Shard sent out a push strong enough to crack the glass and send the shards flying through the room. The salarians jumped into cover as the krogans began to fire at them. They spread through the room, laying down fire until their guns grew too replaced the heat sinks and were about to fire again when the salarian from earlier stood, throwing a glass beaker directly at Shard's face.

It hit her with enough force to knock her into a counter top, the glass biting into her skin. But then the contents began to quickly burn away at her skin and eyes, blinding her. She dropped her gun and clutched at her face in agony, thrashing in pain. Jaq yelled for her, taking her eyes off her opponents for a moment. It was all the opening the Professor needed. He stepped forward quickly, knocking Jaq's shotgun to the side. She turned back to him, already beginning to glow with power when he reached into a pouch in his belt and threw a powder into her face.

Against her will, her body reacted harshly to the chemical. Her biotics were flaring wildly, wreaking havoc on her body and the furniture around the lab. Mordin pointed his pistol at her head but Jaq was able to get out a lucky hit, a blue tendril snapping the gun from his hand. The Captain looked back and turned his own gun from Shard to Jaq. The bullet struck her in the back, close to her spine, and she fell to the ground in a heap. He hoped the strike killed her when he saw her biotics fade out. He turned to the other salarian.

"Hurry Mordin. We must stop them before they go any further and find the rest of the team." Kirrahe might have said more, if he knew it was the last sentence he'd ever say. As he turned to finish off the other woman, he found himself starring down the barrel of a shotgun wielded by a very angry looking krogan.

Koto pulled the trigger, the blast powerful enough to rip the male's head from his shoulders, sending it sailing across the room. He couldn't waste any time worrying about his teammates and could only hope they were still alive. Shard had stopped screaming, and had crawled over to Jaq. She covered her body with her own but neither were moving now. Maybe they were breathing, maybe not. He could find out when he killed this Mordin person.

The professor had collected his weapon on the floor and was already aiming at Koto. The salarian proved faster, as well as accurate. The first bullet went straight through Koto's cheek, leaving his jaw hanging on one side. Thankfully his helmet was keeping everything in place. When Koto ignored it and raised his gun at Mordin, the next shots went into the krogan's hands. He was unable to keep his grip on the gun, but leaped towards the salarian faster than he had ever mustered before. They both crashed into the floor.

Mordin was able to roll through and back on his feet. Koto cursed up at him. "Spry little shit ain't you. Let's see how spry you are once I rip your legs from you."

"Typical. Exactly why the genophage is an unfortunate necessity. You can't be trusted to yourselves. My work must continue." Mordin stretched out his omni-tool, super heated plasma splashing onto Koto's helmet. He quickly got it off, but not before some of it splashed onto his already damaged cheek. It burnt away part of his face, until his sharp teeth could be seen from the outside. He didn't have time to worry about the pain and filed it away for later. He threw his helmet at Mordin, smacking him in the head.

Koto pressed the attack, shoving him into a small table with a chemistry set up on it, still cooking. Koto's strong hands found Mordin's throat and he started to squeeze as hard as he could. He wanted to make it last longer than this but didn't have the luxury of time in this battle. Mordin's eyes were almost bursting when he reached back and smashed another beaker into Koto's eye. The krogan ignored the blow until he tasted the dirty chemicals burning on his tongue. He felt his strength wane, his grip go lax. He knew right away something was wrong. He felt something warm and wet crawl down his eyes. It was as if every sickness he had ever felt hit him all at once.

Mordin was coughing for air, straightening back up, holding his throat. "Rejected redesign for the genophage. Still, can come in handy in certain scenarios. Please understand," Mordin pulled out a knife from his belt, "it hurts me to have to do any of this." He brought down the knife, aiming for Koto's neck. But Koto was able to muster enough strength to rise enough so the blade bounced off his armor. He fell forward so all his weight forced the small salarian down to the ground. Koto bashed Mordin's face with a giant headbutt, but couldn't follow up as the disease inside him continued to ravage his body.

To his side, he saw Shard beginning to stir again, her eyes now grown back surrounded by fresh scar tissue. Jaq was also pushing back towards consciousnesses. He knew he didn't have a chance of getting out of here now, made his peace with it. But it was enough to know his friends would leave victorious. But as usual, salarians made for poor losers.

Mordin saw the krogan looking at the others and he quickly calculated he would not be making it out of here alive. Neither would they. They couldn't get access to the information housed here. It could prove to be problematic. Only one choice now. He thought of his team hiding further in the facility. They'd understand. As usual, the Professor had no other choice.

Koto heard the soft tapping of an omni-tool below him and when he looked back he recognized the self-destruct protocol Mordin was activating. And he knew he had no other choice. There was only one thing he could think of to make sure his teammates got out of here alive. He opened his wide jaw, still hanging slightly on one side, and bite down with enough force to rip Mordin's forearm from his body. Including his omni-tool. For a split second he took great delight in watching the color drain from Mordin's face as he bleed out beneath him. He had not been able to complete the sequence. He spat the arm out as the omni-tool faded from life and gave one last mighty roar. He screamed until he finally felt his stomachs burst and the pain he had been keeping at bay finally overwhelmed him. Urdnot Koto was gone.

Shard got back up on shaky feet, Jaq crawling on the ground next to her. They pulled Koto's body from the salarian corpse beneath him. Lifeless eyes looked up, no sign of their friend left in them. Jaq bowed her head.

"Mother Tuchanka. Accept your son back to you. He proved himself mighty and true to his clan and people. We will carry his memory with us for the rest of days and sing of his glory throughout history. This We Promise." Only silence answered Jaq and she turned to look up confused at Shard. She had not answered the prayer. Tears were streaking down her face and she turned away without saying anything. But Jaq recognized the pain on her face, filled with hate and sorrow. She slowly pulled herself up and tried to reach for her friend but Shard was already quickly moving out of the room. She had retrieved her weapon and didn't even stop when The Prime Unit opened the door, holding Tali. Shard just pushed her way past them both.

"Shard..." was all Tali could whisper out. Wilson turned the platform's head to scan the room. He noticed the three dead bodies and Jaq's hurt form.

"Jaq, we must treat you."

"I'll be fine, we gotta get to Shard. Siva warned me about this. Said sometimes warriors lose themselves after a hard fight. Where you lose friends. We gotta stop her before she does something she regrets." Jaq tried to move out of the room but her legs still had not recovered enough and she crashed onto the floor, her head in the hallway.

Down the hallway, she saw Shard's back as the woman faced an open room. Inside were four huddled scientists. They were unarmed and scared looking. Some were begging. And Jaq could see Shard's shotgun lift to point at the nearest one, her finger twitching on the trigger.


	37. Chapter 37 - Lost

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

"It's all your fault. Why can't you bastards just leave us alone?" Shard spit as the words tumbled from her mouth. Her breathing had become erratic and she pointed at one salarian and then the next with her shotgun.

"Please don't! We surrender," one of the scientists fell to his knees, holding his hands in front of his face."

"God damn cowards. What, lose your nerve when you aren't killing babies still in the womb? Can't handle a true warrior?" Shard's words became less clear, closer to growls now than actual speech. Jaq and Tali recovered enough now to move behind her, the Prime Unit watching everything impassively. The Geth monitored everyone's actions to be filed away in its data on organic behavior. Wilson didn't agree with Shard's conclusions but had no intention on stopping her. He may not have wanted to kill anyone, but that didn't figure he had the right to stop someone like Shard either. Tali and Jaq did not agree.

The quarian woman put her hand on Shard's shoulder. "Please captain. We've won. Let's just get out of here. They're not a threat to you any longer."

"You don't understand Tali. Every salarian scientist is a threat to me. All it takes is one person to make sure the krogans are shoved back into the dust we are only now clawing ourselves from." Shard did not take her finger off the trigger. The pleas of the scientists were lost on her.

Jaq stepped in front of Shard now. "Come on Red. This isn't you. We both know that. Fuck these assholes. They ain't worth the metal in your gun."

"Get out of my way Jaq."

"Or what? You gonna do me too? We both know you won't. That's not who you are."

"I said fucking move!" Shard forcefully shoved Jaq back down onto the ground and took a step forward, shoving her gun into the face of a blubbering male. "This is for Koto you fu-" A blue light enveloped Shard, quickly shoving her back into a table. Tali and Jaq were on her in seconds. As the three tumbled on the floor, some of the scientists made signs of movement before Prime stepped in front of them.

"Get off of me now!"

"Captain please, you have to stop this madness."

"Suit's right Red. You ain't thinkin' straight." Jaq rips the shotgun from Shard's hands as Tali uses all of her strength to hold her arms down. She doesn't know, but she suspects that if Shard's heart was completely in this fight, she'd have no trouble knocking them both over. Jaq grips Shard by her jaw, forcing her to look into her eyes. "If you had your head on right, you'd know we need to bring these shits back home. Let the boss decide what to do with 'em."

Tali's suspicions were proven correct when Shard pushed them both off as if they weighed nothing. She was back up in an instant, staring down at the scientists. Her head hurt, and everything was moving too fast, the lights were too bright. Inside her, it felt as if her stomachs were eating each other and she could feel her knees becoming uneasy. Without saying a word, she stomped out of the room, heading in the direction where they had left the Surtesh. The girls let out a relieved sigh.

"I thought she might actually do it."

"Fuck, she still might. Never seen her like this. This is the first time she's ever lost anyone close to her. Before it was just me. Now she has all these connections in her life, and she's lost."

"You speak as if you understand."

Jaq grunted and lifted herself back up. "Yeah well…she ain't the only one feeling this way. Damn it Koto. At least he went out like a real mother fucker. I'll never forget him."

"I have to say Jaq, you're handling this all well."

"Fuckin' death. It's just a switch. That piece of meat in there isn't my clan brother. He's in here." Jaq puts her hand on Tali and her own chest. "We'll never forget him. But you know how Shard is. She's overthinking everything. We gotta make sure she comes out of this alright Tals."

"I'm with you always. Both of you." Jaq helps Tali to her feet. "I think it's time we go."

"Yeah I'm good with that. Hey, tinkertoy. I want one of you to datamine the shit out of this rock. Take anything you can get and bring it back to the ship. The other, take that metal ass of yours and escort these fucks. And make sure you keep them away from Shard."

" _Acknowledged…_ I'll get the data. That way if these scientists try anything funny, The Geth won't have a problem killing them… _This is an accurate conclusion."_

"Tali, go with them. I'll just be a moment." The team moved out as Jaq began her work. She moved from room to room, setting explosives on a timer. She brought a lot with her. She didn't plan to leave anything of this hellhole except for debris. Finally she came to the room where Koto's body was still lying. She made sure to plant one charge on top of the corpses of the two salarians they had fought against. Before she left, she leaned down and took Koto's guns. She bowed her head, holding the weapons close before moving out of the facility to catch up with the remains of Maw Company. She took great pleasure when she detonated the asteroid, leaving nothing left behind as the Surtesh made its way back to Tuchanka.

* * *

"Get the hell in there." Shard hauled the salarians before Bakara, Wrex by the Alpha Prime's side in her throne room. Shard wasn't gentle with them.

"Shard. What's going on here? We haven't heard from you since your ship was attacked, and now you bring these salarians before me. Explain."

"One moment Siva. Geth, did you finish?"

Bakara and Wrex eyed the Prime Unit standing in front of them. It looked like some sort of advanced version of a security mech but Shard treated it like a person.

" _The task is complete Shard-Red…_ They were able to take out every listening device on the planet with the help of the data from the listening post."

Wrex crossed his arms, an angry look in his eye glancing at everyone in the room. "Alright, I want some answers now. What's all this about bugs and listening posts?"

"And where is Koto?" Bakara didn't look much more pleased than Wrex did. And her displeasure only grew as Shard and her crew told them about everything that happened. The attack from the ship, the raid, and how the salarians knew everything. Shard pulled her gun out, pointing it at the closest scientists.

"I beg you Siva, give me permission to kill these bastards. For everything they've done to us and everything they would do to us. They don't deserve to live." Bakara was silent, but Wrex strode down the steps until he was circling Shard. He looked her had in the eye and then looked back to Bakara.

"I'm all one for slaughter but I don't like the look in the tak's eyes. She's on the verge." Bakara leaned back, rubbing her tired eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about Tuva? You know what they did. How could you not side with me to slaughter these fools?" Shard couldn't help the hurt and slight look of betrayal that crept into her eyes.

Wrex brought Shard to her knees with a crushing headbutt. The gun slid across the floor, next to Jaq's feet. The entire room was silent. Soon Shard was back to her feet, nose to nose with Wrex. His eyes were steady.

"Just how far you going to push this Shard? I know you better than almost anyone in the galaxy, and you have never spoken like this. You're nearly in a bloodrage. One of the strongest I've ever seen. We'll like Bakara decide what to do, but for now I think you need to leave the room. Gather yourself." Shard almost reached up to strangle her Tuva. But the strength of the urge to do so gave her pause. She could barely think anymore. With the last of herself, she turned and stomped out of the room, only stopping long enough to get her gun from Jaq. Shard couldn't bring herself to meet Jaq's eyes and was soon gone.

Wrex rubbed the back of his head, slowly making his way next to Bakara. One of the salarians on the floor had started to thank him profusely for saving them and he came very close to killing them. He had pushed Shard away for the sake of his enemies and it was enough to make him sick. The Prime Unit moved up now, Wilson's voice coming from it.

"There was something else we discovered that you'll need to get to work on right away. There is a bomb, inside the planet, on the southern continent. It was put there by the turians. It's a planet cracker. If detonated, anything left of Tuchanka will be drifting lifelessly in the void."

Wrex immediately called out orders through his omni-tool. He sent four teams to the coordinates, and told them not to come back until that thing was disarmed. "Wilson. You've done a lot for our people in your short existence. More than others. Thanks."

"With all due respect Urdnot Wrex, I do this for my creator. It was her love for her people that has helped create the core of my being. So I ask you, please find a way to repair her code. I do not enjoy seeing her like this." If Tali didn't know better, she would have said Wilson actually looked worried. Bakara leaned forward.

"She will find the help she needs. In due time. But first, let's clear the room a bit." Bakara motioned for some guards to remove the prisoners to be held until she decided what was to be done with them. She looked back at the platform, "you got all this information by hacking into the Citadel and the listening post, correct?"

" _That is correct Bakara-Alpha."_

"Then I have another task for you both. I want you to use the information you got from the post and link it to any known locations on the genophage. In either salarian or Citadel space. I want you to find any reference to the genophage formula and delete it. They already know what we're up to, but if we're lucky we can make sure it'll be a lot harder for them to catch up than they suspect."

" _The request is received. What do you offer in exchange?"_

Wrex crossed his arms. "Direct huh? I like it. Better than dancing around the issue for 20 minutes. What do you want?"

" _The geth require more information on organic species. We request that you allow us free access to your planet and people."_

Bakara leans back. "Done. Report directly to me when your mission is finished. Now please go."

The platform powered down as the AIs moved out of the system. Bakara looked to the other two women. "Let it be known, that what Urdnot Koto did will never be forgotten. His deeds will live through history. A Passing Feast will be held tonight. Make sure Shard knows. Now, leave us." Tali and Jaq left the room.

Alone now with Wrex, Bakara felt the weight of everything finally come crashing down on her. She leaned over her knees, head in hands. He kneeled down next to her, leaning his crest against hers. "It's almost too much Wrex. I do not know what to do. I feel as if I'm on the brink with a great chain pulling me over the edge. How do I stop all this and protect everyone?"

"Hell if I know 'Kara. I wasn't picked for leader. You were. Because everyone knows if anyone can pull our assed out of the fire, it's you. And when you come out the other side, I'll still be there to make sure you can still stand." Bakara smiled, her hands finding the sides of Wrex's face. She lifted her chin so she could look at him now.

"If only everyone knew just how much of a soft hearted bastard you are Wrex."

"I guess it'll just have to be our little secret."

* * *

Warriors from all the clans found themselves in the great Urdnot feast hall to celebrate the life of Urdnot Koto. Word of what Maw Company did and what they discovered quickly spread throughout the planet. Even though it was scheduled to begin at dusk, people started showing up the moment they learned it was happening.

Drinks flowed like a river, as people competed to see who could praise the loudest Koto's many deeds. They spoke of the time he was still a tak and he fought off a wild varren that had made its way into the female camp. They sang to the heavens when they remembered how he once assaulted a security firm on a salarian colony that had been targeting krogans off planet. But they sang of nothing louder than of what he accomplished the day before, giving his life to keep the genophage from once again ravaging his people.

In the middle of the revelries, Shard burst into the room. Jaq and Tali stood once they saw her enter. She was already clearly drunk. Shard shoved people out of her way, before standing on top of a table.

"What the hell do any of you know? You weren't there when he made is final stand. You didn't watch as the light left his eyes. You're all getting piss drunk in his name, and you are all forgetting one thing. He's fucking gone," Shard emphasized her scream by smashing a bottle on the ground, the liquor sending the flames of a fire higher. "He's gone and there isn't anything that will ever bring him back."

Jaq made her way over to her friend and tried to usher her out of the room. Shard wasn't having anything of it and shoved Jaq's hand from her shoulder. "Get the hell off of me. You're just as bad as the rest of them. How can you all be celebrating his death?"

"Shard you know this is our way. You've lost yourself Red. Koto is still alive, in all of us. His deeds will travel through all time, just like Siva says."

"'His deeds will travel through all time?' What the hell does that even mean Jaq? Koto isn't there. Koto's life ended on a cold floor in a fucking salarian listening post. And he isn't seeing any of this. I don't want his fucking deeds to live on. I want him to live on…I want him back."

"This is the best any of us get Shard. I know you're hurting, but we're all here to help you through this." Other warriors lifted their drinks to Jaq's words. She moved to once again try and help Shard out of the room, planning on joining her, but Shard once again pushed her hand off, this time clocking Jaq across the chin with her fist.

Other krogans looking on caught Jaq before she fell to the floor. She wiped her hand across the cut on her chin before launching herself back at Shard. A circle quickly formed around the two as they tumbled on the floor. Shard's blows are wild and wide, Jaq easily able to dodge them. Jaq doesn't put everything she has into it either, soon able to get her arm across Shard's throat from behind. Shard struggles to pull the arm off as Jaq leans in to grunt into her ear.

"I got you Red. It's alright, hey, it's alright…" Jaq's hold became less of a choke and more of an embrace. Despite the rage inside of her, she leaned back into the smaller woman, tears she'd been building for hours finally on the verge of bursting free. But she was still too angry to let herself go here, in front of so many other krogans. She shoved Jaq back into the arms of the onlookers before she pushed out of the crowd and left the feast hall. Jaq moved to go after her, Tali not too far behind her. But they were stopped at the door when Bakara told them to wait, before she went to follow Shard into the darkness of night.

* * *

Bakara didn't have to search long to find Shard. The woman was sitting on the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep canyon. She had found Shard here many times before. She told Bakara is always helped her to think, this spot. The remains of a once mighty river flowed slowly in the deep valley. It was no more than a stream now, but still it continued on. Shard told her she liked the idea that something that was once great still fought so hard to continue to exist. Shard didn't look over when Bakara sat next to her.

"You are giving into your despair Shard. It is like a deep pit filled with mud. Once you let it take you too far, you will have no hope of ever escaping." Shard pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head into Bakara's shoulder.

"I feel like I'm lost Siva. I keep thinking about what I could have done different. I wasn't strong enough to keep Koto alive."

"He was not yours to keep alive Shard. He was a warrior, who fought to the death against a great enemy. And his death was not wasted. In the end, there is nothing more to be asked for."

"I keep seeing him, like a candle, the flame being snuffed out. And it hurts to imagine that everything he was is just gone now. All gone."

"This is deeper than Koto, isn't it?"

Shard couldn't speak any more, like a great weight had been placed on her chest. All at once, all of her turmoil overwhelmed her and she soon found herself sobbing into Bakara's arm. All of her fears spilled from her, the late night thoughts that muddled her mind and how deep the fear went. As if into her very core. Bakara listened in silence, but never taking her arm from Shard, allowing her warrior to drain herself of all grief. She looked up into the stars on the clear night.

"Nothing is forever Shard. Even the stars will one day end. What hope do we have? The best we can do, that anyone can do, is to live a good life for them and their people."

"It just doesn't seem fair Siva. I…I don't want to end."

"I know Shard. I know. You are afraid of what comes next. It's the question that has haunted anyone capable of sentience since life first began. And we all have our own ideas. And how can you know which are true, if any? The simple truth is you cannot. You will have to make peace with it if you ever want to move past this. One day I will be gone, as will Wrex, and I do not want to leave before I know you'll be able to stand on your own."

"I'll try Siva. I'll try."

Bakara closed her eyes, focusing her mind. "There is a technique I haven't taught you yet. Koto knew of it. It allows you to drain yourself of all fears and questions. It empties you completely. Comes in handy before a battle, but it can also be used to help when you find yourself crushed by despair. I can teach you now." Bakara turned and looked past Shard's shoulders. "As well as your friends."

Shard turned in time to see Jaq and Tali sit next to her, all of their legs dangling from the side of the cliff. None of them said anything, but each of the females held onto each other's hand. Shard was never more thankful for her friends. Through the night, they stayed there together learning from Bakara.

* * *

The salarian prisoners found themselves in a nightmare that many of their people feared; in the middle of a gathering surrounded by thousands of krogans. Bakara called a gathering of the clans to decide what to do with the prisoners. The debate had already raged for hours.

Some like Shard and Raik Maksar wanted to kill all of them. Shard felt better than she had the day before, but she still thought execution was the only answer for the death the salarians had worked so hard to bring down on Tuchanka. She also wanted to broadcast the execution so everyone could see what happens to their enemies. Many agreed with her.

Others like Jaq and Jorgal Zrox thought the execution should remain private. Jaq didn't shy away from the bloodshed but she had never been one for making such a show out of things like Shard did. She would go along with her little vids but she didn't like the look inside her friend's eyes and was worried this might push her too far. Zrox and others were just practical. To broadcast what the krogans knew would be tipping their hands too much to the rest of the galaxy.

And then there were those like Tali and Rorloc Sukar. Sukar had already questioned the salarians extensively and been over the data taken from the listening post. It would go a long way with speeding up the cultivation of a cure. He and Tali argued they were at a critical point and right now what the krogan needed more than anything was a few years of stability. They wouldn't get that with a bloodbath, regardless of how justified they were. Many in the galaxy had already made their minds up about the krogan and this could be a chance to prove them wrong. Or as Sukar said, give them enough doubt to cause a debate to slow their enemies down.

Bakara lifts her hand when she's heard enough. Shard can't help the grin on her face when she hears the order to gather the prisoners before her along with a recorder. The broadcast is streamed out of the system.

"I am Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara. I have recently been informed of a great crime against my people. These here," she motions towards the prisoners, "are the remains of a listening post that was inside our system. Their orders came directly from the Citadel Council. The goal was to make sure the krogan never got over the genophage. The listening post recently learned some things about us that made many in power very worried. For example, not only are the krogans slowly adapting to ignore the genophage, we are working on our own cure. Be certain, that this is the end of your reports from my planet. We have swept through to destroy every bug planted here."

Bakara smiled at the idea of causing a little bit of panic on someone else's world for once when she pulled the mobile-platform into the vid. "We had help with our new friends. The geth, and a new AI created by one of our own scientists." It wasn't the whole truth, but there was no reason to name names. She didn't mind letting everyone know about the krogan creating an AI, since she knew her enemies had already learned about it long ago.

The platform's gears shifted around its lens. " _Greetings. We are the geth…_ And my name is Wilson. Hello to everyone out there. I have to say you've done a great job with the Extranet. The upload speeds could be a little faster." Bakara pushed the unit back out of view.

"That's not everything we've discovered. By now, I imagine there are a lot of angry voices shouting into communicators. Maybe a few turians. Maybe a few turians who want to detonate a certain bomb. I'm happy to report that it won't make a difference. We found that too, and I can assure you it won't work." Wrex moved into the screen and tossed a large chunk of metal with cut wires sticking out of it onto the floor. Bakara nodded to him before continuing.

"Time and time again, unprovoked attacks have been made against the krogans. And any retaliation from us is just used as proof for the need to put us down. But one of these days, someone will learn that all we want is to be left in peace." Bakara shouts over to release the prisoners and they are quickly ushered out of the room and shoved onto a transport to get them out of the system. "I'm sending your people back to you, unharmed. So if you wish to bring your fighting to us, history will remember that we did what we could to avoid bloodshed. Choose your next actions wisely." The recording ended and Bakara looked around the gathered krogans.

"I want you to all prepare for invasion. We have done all we can to give our enemies a chance to save themselves. But the next time an invading force returns to Tuchanka, we will be ready for them. This gathering is ended." The crowd began to disperse, including Maw Company. Jaq and Tali made sure Shard was alright and she assured them she was. Bakara made a wise decision, better than she would have. She told them that she'd meet up with them later.

* * *

A small room at the end of a dingy hallway. Not much, but it was all Koto ever needed. Shard had been there several times throughout the years. Inside were trophies from his many adventures. There was a rack of weapons, a few skulls and strangely enough a bright dress. Koto never talked to her about it, just telling her it was important to him and from a long time ago.

Shard sat on his bed, looking around his room. "I don't know if you can hear this or not, or if I'm just talking to myself. But I want you to know I'm sorry. For not being able to keep you alive." She took a steady breath, clenching her knees tightly. "I'll remember the fight Koto and I'll learn from it. The krogans could be going to war soon and we'll all have our fill of fighting. I could meet up with you again. I hope so at least. Siva's helping me through the fear. Teaching me new techniques."

Shard stood up, dusting herself off a bit. She moved over to a small stone desk. On it were datapads filled with shorthand notes. She could tell they were plans Koto had been working on to improve the Surtesh. "You never could stop working," she said with a bitter laugh. She downloaded the data into her omni-tool.

Near his other weapons, Shard's eyes focused on the centerpiece. It was a large hammer, nearly as long as her. With hesitation, she reached out and gripped it. Koto told her he used it once, but an old injury kept him from using it very well. She didn't have much trouble lifting it. It's grip seemed almost built for her hands. She smiled, thinking Koto would enjoy the sight, and brought the hammer crashing into the door frame. The stone burst forward, making the entry wider and sending cracks up the structure. She held the hammer close and starred down at the floor.

"I miss you Koto. I almost lost myself in despair for you. But you're gone. And I'm still here. So I'll keep fighting. For you, for Jaq and Tali and for our people." Shard collapses the hammer and attaches it to her back next to her sniper rifle and above her shotgun. "This I promise." She steps over the small stone chunks from the recently cracked doorway, leaving the room behind her.


	38. Chapter 38 - Making Alliances

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Tali was working on a broken down console deep in concentration. She always enjoyed fixing broken down things, especially if they were beyond all hope of repair. The challenge of the fix along with the triumph felt at doing the unexpected always thrilled her. So intent was she on repairing the console, that she didn't notice the geth mobile platform standing to her left, studying her. But when she did, her reflexes kicked in and she drew her shotgun quickly, pointing it at the geth.

"Wilson? That you?"

" _Negative Creator Zorah. We are the Geth."_

"I was afraid of that. What are you doing?"

" _We were observing you."_

Tali felt years of training shouting at her to stop talking and to start blasting, but she wasn't stupid. She didn't forget what she had learned or that Shard now considered The Geth a friend. With maximum effort she was able to lower her gun. But she didn't quite have enough to ship it yet.

"Why are you watching me Geth?"

" _You are similar to the quarians in the opposition. We were trying to compare you to the data in the archives."_

"Well don't worry about that. I imagine that none of the quarians are like the ones you used to know. A lot can change in 300 years."

" _Accurate. You are different from the data. But you are also different than the simulations we have run on reunion scenarios."_

 _"_ Reunion scenarios? You mean you think about what it would be like to meet up with the quarians again?"

" _Correct. Many of these simulations end in violence. Others in continued exile. Only recently did we create new scenarios. After meeting Shard-Red and the krogan we have concluded that an outside party with no anger towards either the quarians or geth could intervene."_

"You hope we can all live on Rannoch one day is that it? No offense Geth, but I don't think even Shard could make that work. There's too much bad blood."

" _Possibly. But the geth do not live on Rannoch. We currently house our programs onboard the fleet. We also plan to create a space station large enough to hold us and future generations of programs for centuries. The geth do not require Rannoch."_

 _"_ What? So all this time, you haven't been on the planet? It's still just a desolate wasteland?"

" _Inaccurate. The geth repaired the damage to Rannoch 200 years ago. It is now in the state it was in before Industrialized quarian society in many areas. We also repaired some of the megacities. Others were torn down for materials. For comparison, it is similar to some of the advance colonies of other organic species."_

Tali shipped her gun and sat down on a nearby bench. She looked up at Geth, still watching her impassively. She chuckled and said, "You certainly don't believe in beating around the bush do you?"

" _The geth do not lie. We share consensus. It is not within our programming. If we choose to speak, it is because we agreed in the free exchange of data."_

An idea formed in Tali's mind. This could be just the thing she has been waiting for. "This space station of yours, why haven't you finished it yet?"

" _The geth do not have access to a large enough amount of materials. We would need to trade with other species. We do not see this eventuality happening in the near future."_

"But if you did, would the space station need to be near Rannoch? Could you build it wherever you felt?"

Geth was silent for a moment, the question being sent back off to the collective. The debate raged and burned in a microsecond before every program came to an agreement. " _The station's proximity to the creator home world is not a requirement."_

Tali got up and pulled the platform by its hand, quickly running down the hall. "Come with me. I need to talk with you in front of The Alpha Chief."

* * *

"This is all very fascinating Tali, but I do not understand why you bring it before me." Bakara leaned back into her throne as she listened to the small quarian and geth speaking before her.

"If my guess is correct Chief, you're going to need help soon. I know firsthand just how tough you krogan can be. But no one has ever been able to stand against the Citadel without either immense numbers or allies. And I think I have a way for you to possibly get two allies with a single agreement."

Bakara leaned forward now, eyeing Tali closely. The quarian woman shrunk a little beneath the burning gaze. "Speak then. What is it you think I should do?"

Tali's hands twisted into each other before she found the strength to speak again. "I was speaking with Geth earlier and I learned that his people do not need a planet to live on. In fact they just stay on ships right now. The quarians believe that the geth inhabit our home world, Rannoch. Geth told me that they wish to build a space station to house their programs. But he told me they've had trouble getting materials an-"

"Get to the point Tali'Zorah. You have told me this already."

"The point is, if you help the geth building their space station within your system and help them get the materials they need, they can help you protect Tuchanka with their fleet. And at the same time the quarians would be free to return home. I cannot stress enough how important this would be for us. You would be the hero of our people and the first species in the last 300 years to help us. We would be very grateful, along with our 50,000 ships." Tali took a deep breath after finishing the mouthful.

Bakara leaned back again, going over the details silently. She turned towards the platform. "And you would agree?"

" _We have already reached consensus after Creator Zorah told us of the exchange. We agree. You have connections with outside colonies and planets that could get us the material we need. We can begin to move the ships into your system as soon as your decide."_

Bakara's shoulders slumped slightly. "You've guessed right Tali. We will need all the help we can get. I imagine as we speak, plans are being put into motion. If I've learned one thing, it's that the Citadel government does not like change. I've always figured it's because the asari influence it so much. Those females don't like to do anything except at their own pace. And they love to meddle. I imagine the Citadel is also watching the geth closely," she glances at the platform whose plates shift. "And they won't be helping the quarians any time soon I imagine."

"You'd be correct. Most don't see us as anything more than a pack of scavengers. As thieves."

"So you really believe the quarians would be willing to help out a bunch of bloodthirsty savages like the krogan?" Bakara didn't try to hide her toothy smile.

"As they say, beggars can't be choosers."

Bakara was quiet for a moment then stood. "Geth, we agree to your conditions. Help us defend ourselves against the Citadel fleets and we'll help you get the materials you need."

" _Acknowledged. We do have a warning before we gather our fleet here. The geth will not accept any proposals that would mean the eradication of our programs. And we will defend ourselves from deletion always,"_ And with that the programs were gone; the platform powered down next to Tali. She peeked around its shoulder to see the programs had left and made a mental note to let Wilson know where the platform was.

"I'll say this about the AIs. They don't waste any time."

"I'm just glad they'll be on our side for once. I just hope I haven't read the situation wrong and doomed us all to an entirely different invasion."

"A little late for doubt Tali. Besides, the way I see it, geth don't seem like they can lie even if they wanted to. It's refreshing. Better than dealing with the asari or salarians. So what about the quarians? I'd like to know what they have to say about this deal. Can you get in touch with them?"

"I'll try right away Chief." Tali pulled up her omni-tool sending a communication out to her father. "Keelah se'lai father."

"Keelah se'lai daughter. Do you have anything new to report on your Pilgrimage?" Tali didn't let his course nature bother her. After all this was a business call.

"I believe I do father. I may have found a way to get us our home world back."

"What are you talking about Tali? You're not making any sense. Please I know you want to prove yourself to everyone but do not go around making up wild stories."

Tali bit down the anger and did her best to stay calm. Bakara on the other hand, had different ideas. The female stomped down to Tali and pulled the recorder into view. "This is Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara. Tali is calling you with the full authority of my government. You should treat this call with the utmost respect as it could mean the difference between life and death for both of our species."

"I'm sorry, I haven't had the pleasure of making your acquaintance Chief. I didn't know this would be an official meeting. If you have anything that you wish to discuss, I'd be more than happy to."

"No. Tali was the one who came up with this plan. She'll be my," Bakara paused for a moment trying to think up one of the fancy words the other heads of state used in the galaxy, "dignitary."

"Tali?"

"Yeah. So talk to her. She's got a big idea that she wants to share with you."

"Alright Tali. Needless to say, you have my full attention now."

"Like I said father, I think I may have found a way to get us back to the home world. But before I go on, I need your promise that this doesn't go past us. There are a lot of moving parts and I don't want hope to get too high in case something happens."

"You have my word Tali. Out with it already. What's going to get us back to Rannoch? Do you think the krogan will help us wipe out the geth?"

"No nothing like that. In fact, we won't need to fight at all. The krogan and geth have entered into an alliance and the geth are leaving Rannoch to settle in the Krogan DMZ. Quite simply, we should soon be able to return to Rannoch because there won't be anyone left in our way."

"That's…that's crazy Tali. The geth haven't left the Veil in centuries, and now all of a sudden they're willing to leave it for good and join an alliance with the krogan? That's insane. It can't be possible."

"Regardless, it's the truth. As we speak the geth fleet is on its way here to Tuchanka. And soon I'll be visiting it with my friends to see if everything is as the geth promised."

"This is a lot to take in Tali. No it's too much. The geth are monsters. They do not work with organics. The ancestors said," Tali cut her father off.

"The ancestors lied to us father. The geth didn't wipe out every quarian they could find. It was a civil war. I've seen the data myself. Our ancestors killed more quarians than the geth did. And still the geth do not want to go to war. They just want to be left in peace. They're only willing to help the krogans because the krogans are willing to help them. Bakara wants to know if she can count on your help and the fleet if she can get us Rannoch back."

"She would hold our planet hostage just to broker a deal?"

"What's it going to be father?"

"I don't even fully believe you yet. I want you to send me the data to see for myself. I want to know everything. And if... _if_ you can verify Rannoch is ready for resettlement, then the krogans will be able to count on us as friends in the future. Our enemies will be theirs and their enemies will be ours."

"I know the old saying father but that won't work either. The geth were very clear. They still are hesitant to work with organics out of fear of attack. But they've put that aside because of the reassurance of Bakara. She's going to need our promise to not attack the geth. It's one of the reasons I suggested the geth relocate. The chance for bloodshed would be too high if we were in the same system together sharing resources. Maybe in the future."

"That makes sense. Very well. If you can complete your mission, an alliance will be formalized. I have to say Tali, I never thought I'd see the day you'd be working for another government."

"Life brings us to strange places. I will speak with you soon father."

"I…look forward to it daughter. Ke-" The abrupt end to the call confused Tali. She tried to reconnect the call, but every time she did she got an error message from her omni-tool.

"My communicator isn't working anymore." Bakara stood immediately. She tried to put a call out of the system but hers too was blocked. Then she put a call into one of the other clan chiefs. They answered.

"I want everyone scrambled for invasion right away. Spread the word."

Tali fell in step behind Bakara as she marched out of the room. Before she got to the doors, they burst open. Jaq and Shard came scrambling in, nearly on top of each other.

"Siva it's-"

"-the fuckers just got into the system."

"I know already. I want you all ready. Report to Wrex now. He already knows the plans. We'll be expecting guests soon."

The two women grabbed Tali by her hands and ran off down another hallway just as Bakara made her way into the open. She couldn't see it yet, but she knew they were there. As if answering the call, her omni-tool came to life. She could see other krogans running about, their communicators sparking up as well.

The screen was filled with the face of a grizzled turian male. "This is Captain Zwalo, in command of this peace keeping expedition. I have at my command, with the full authority of the Citadel Council, dozens of ships. You have no hope of resistance. You are to lay down all arms and allow the peaceful extraction of the criminal Urdnot Shard along with her accomplices Urdnot Jaq and Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. They are wanted for the crime of creating an illegal AI program known as Wilson. It will also be handed over for deletion. If you do not respond within five minutes, we will begin the bombardment of your planet."

Bakara continued to stare into the sky, readying herself for what she knew would be the hardest fight of her life.


	39. Chapter 39 - The Siege of Tuchanka

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Bakara continued to look at the sky while addressing the Captain through her omni-tool. "This is Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara. I speak on behalf of Tuchanka. You have no right for this invasion. Leave now, before you end up getting your men killed."

The Captain openly scoffed at her. "You have no ships, nothing to stop us from finishing the job we should have centuries ago. You're lucky the Council only wants the fugitives. I won't ask again. Hand them over or be obliterated."

"You seem quite sure of yourself Captain. That's good. I always enjoy facing an enemy sure of themselves. Makes the victory all the sweeter."

There was a pause in the conversation. Then a screeching sound, like air being broken, became louder until Bakara saw a great explosion in the distance. Despite the tremor, she was able to keep her footing.

"That was your last warning. I will not ask again. Deliver the fugitives to us."

"Alright Captain. You've made your point. It'll take some time to get them into your hands. Can I make the humble request of a 24 hour deadline?"

"You have six. Get it done. Zwalo out." The communication came to a brisk end. Bakara moved quickly. Six hours wasn't a lot of time but luckily the clans had prepared for this. Already they had moved into deep underground bunkers that could withstand orbital bombardment. Now she just had to find a way to do some damage to the ships. All she needed was to anger this Captain Zwalo enough for him to send in ground troops. Then there would be an even playing field, and she suspected the Captain would be hesitant to fire directly onto his own troops. But she knew even that was not a given. It was just the best she could hope for, until the geth armada showed up.

Bakara steps onto a raised platform built into the base of an old stone building. She activated the elevator, lowering deep into the caverns that led to the bunker. Thankfully the lift moved quickly as the bunker was at least a mile deep. Finally it reached the bottom. Bakara moved deeper inside the area until she found the bunker for Clan Urdnot. Waiting for her behind a thick steel door was her honor guard, Tank, Korth and Tuuyak. Next to the three brothers were Wrex and Maw Company. Jaq pushed past the brothers.

"What's the word boss?"

"A moment Jaq. Wrex, did everyone get inside?"

"Yeah, they're all in. Sent a few of my best to stay with the females and Taks. So, got a plan?"

"I was able to buy us six hours. Not a lot of time to do anything, but it's what we have."

Jaq's eyes lit up. "I just remembered something. I haven't been there in years, but you know about the surface to orbit cannons we have? There is at least one nearby. Maybe some more elsewhere, I don't really know. I say we fry these fucks with them."

Wrex nodded his head grimly. "Not good enough Jaq. The cannons work fine, but they don't have a lot of range. We might be able to get one of them, but after that we'd just be shootin' metal out into space."

Shard lifted her hand and looked down at it. "Wilson could you find the rest of the cannons?"

The hologram came to life above her wrist. "If I can get into the one Jaq knows about I'm sure I can find where the rest are and bring them online."

"Wilson, I know this is a lot to ask but we may need you to operate them. And that would mean killing people."

"Shard you know that I-"

Tali stepped forward. "Wilson please. I...understand your hesitation to hurt people. But if you do not, there is a very good chance that the turians will kill everyone. Including the children."

"I understand that but we have not discussed another option. We could give them what they want. Us."

Wrex swiped his hand and shook his head. "Out of the question light bulb. You think these bastards are just going to let us get back to the way things are if we give into their demands? It's too late for that. We've become too much of a problem to ignore. They're just hoping to get some valuable prisoners out of this before the kill us all."

Bakara calmed Wrex, rubbing his arm slightly. "He is right Wilson. We only have one option: to fight. We cannot make you help us. The choice is yours."

There was a quiet now and Wilson seemed to process the data longer than he had ever before to Shard's recollection. Finally he spoke up. "I'll help you. Jaq...give me the coordinates."

Jaq sent the location of the orbital cannon to Wilson and then he was gone. Shard kept her link active so he could return when he wanted or if she needed to speak with him. The tall woman glanced at Bakara. "He's going against his programming to help us. I didn't even think that was possible."

Tali crossed her arms. "It shouldn't be. Unless he rewrote part of his code. That means he's evolving."

Wrex interrupted, "Yeah yeah yeah, he's a real boy now. Let's focus on a plan now. Maybe something that doesn't end with our gruesome deaths."

The brother each raised their hands now. Each one spoke, as if finishing the sentence for the other. "We may have an idea...It could help us get the jump on the turians...and the best part is we get to use a big fucking gun."

* * *

Captain Zwalo tapped his talons on the metal rail around his raised platform. The six hours were nearly up and he still had no word from this 'Alpha Chief'. He knew she was up to something. But he gave his word and he was nothing if not honorable. His leaders made the right choice sending him. He knew of other Captains that would take the krogans lightly. He did not, he knew just how deadly they could be. He scratched idly at the scar that traveled from beneath his eye towards where his left mandible should have been. He heard footsteps behind him, lightly tapping the ground. He knew who it was right away and his annoyance only rose.

"Syxira. I told you to wait in your room."

"Sorry Captain. Got lonely in there. And the view left nothing to be desired. It's better now." She smiled, leaning back on the rail inches away from the statue-like Captain. When he turned he clicked his throat. She didn't let his anger stop her from arching her back slightly, her chest pushing out. She was wearing tight leather armor with ballistic resistant weaves built into the seams. The protection was nice, but she always liked the way it helped her figure.

"I can't imagine why anyone would think the asari are over stimulated nymphomaniacs."

"Oh Captain, I'm not over stimulated. Well," she licked her lips, inching closer to him, "not yet anyway."

"This is a military operation. It wasn't my idea to send you along. But we all have our orders. That doesn't mean I'll let you walk freely around my ship and get in the way of our mission."

"Careful Zwalo, you keep talking like that and I just may have to sink my claws into you. Right here. In front of all your men. Think they'd like the show." The turian turned away in disgust. She crept up alongside him and whispered into his ear. "I'm just teasing sir. You know I'd let you take control. I've heard rumors about you. Quite a beast sometimes aren't you?"

"That's quite enou-" The Captain was interrupted by his comm officer.

"Sir, incoming transmission from Tuchanka. Patching it through." The Captain straightened his back and leaned over the rail slightly, Tuchanka's image swirling in the place the galaxy map usually stood. The comm patched into the image as well, with the profile of Urdnot Bakara popping up when she was identified as the caller.

"Captain, we've done what you have three females you have requested will be sent to you on a ship. It should be leaving the planet now. The AI program is with them. Here are their coordinates. I trust you will soon leave us in peace once your mission is complete."

"Thank you for your cooperation Bakara. And I promise we will leave as soon as our mission is complete. Zwalo out." He ended the call and turned to one of his subordinates. "Have you found the ship?"

"We have sir. Should we move to intercept?"

"Hmm, no. Send one of the frigates. And make sure to scan to see if there are life signs on board before they pick it up." The other turian put out the orders. He quickly got a response. "Sir, The Claw has moved into position. They're reporting three lifeforms on board."

"Bring them in. And then get all ships into position. Once we have the VIPs secured, begin the bombardment of the planet." His men moved to get everything ready. Zwalo could feel Syxira's eyes staring a hole into the back of his head.

"Not very honorable of you Captain. That poor woman is going to be so upset when she figures out you broke your word."

"I didn't break anything Syxira. I plan to leave once my mission is over. And like I said earlier, we all have our orders. Considering what yours are, I would appreciate you if you would stop mocking me."

She was about to say something when voices began talking loudly over each other at each station. Zwalo quickly moved to get order. "What in the hells is going on? Talk to me people."

"Sir The Claw. It's gone. It was taken out by a massive shot. It came from the planet sir."

"Give me visuals now." The Captain stood perfectly still, hands clasped behind his back. As soon as he gave the order, video feeds from his ships popped up in front of him. The Claw was now nothing but a dead husk. He could see soldiers being vented into space. There suits might be able to keep them alive for some time but he couldn't risk sending in rescue until that gun had been taken out. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'how did intel drop the ball on this one?'

"I want that ship taken out. It's a trap. Open fire as soon as possible." He then turned to Syxira, gripping her by her arm. "If you plan on completing your mission, you better get ready. Because we'll soon be dropping ordinance down on the planet. I doubt there will be anything left for you though."

The asari wrenched her arm from the turian's iron grip. "I wouldn't be so sure Captain. I hear Bakara is a tough woman. That's good. I like killing tough women." She didn't say anything else and returned to her room to get her gear. Each weapon was custom picked for fighting a krogan. She never went after a target unprepared. Once she had everything she moved into the docking area of the dreadnought. Her ship was small, but it was great for getting in undetected. She moved into the cockpit of the small vessel, prepping the systems. Everything was ready now. Syxira took a steadying breath, entering into a shallow meditation, as she did before every mission.

* * *

Tuuyak looked out the window as the turian ship that had moved to gather them was destroyed by the orbital cannon. "Looks like Shard's AI did the job. Let's just hope he can keep it up."

Korth pulled his helmet down, sealing it. "Come brother, help me with the propulsion pack. If you wish to enjoy the sights of an exploding ship, please by all means, continue to gape like a vorcha." Tuuyak moved behind his brother, activating the experimental equipment they had gotten from Rorloc Sukar. The jet pack would allow them to move through the vacuum of space easily for a brief period. They knew their task would most likely mean their deaths but it would make for one hell of a story.

"You are all set Korth. I tell you now, we will be sung of for all the ages." He pulled his own helmet on before turning so Tuuyak could inspect his equipment. Korth saw his Tank finish setting the charges on the explosives that filled the ship. He was already finished with his own preparations. He was equipped much like his brothers with standard close quarters weapons with one difference. He also carried with him a crude hatchet. It was really nothing more than a slab of sharp iron attached to a handle wrapped in leather, but Tank went no where with it. He got up and moved next to his brothers.

"Let's blow these shit eaters away. Are you ready brothers?" Tank grabbed each male behind their helmets, their foreheads mashing together."

Tuuyak spoke, "We go out together or we don't go out at all. Like always. I am ready."

"So am I."

"Let's fucking do this." The men stepped into the airlock, sealing it behind them. Each activated a cloaking device given to them by Shard before leaving the ship. The were greeted by a sight that left them all in awe. Ships flying above and below them, Tuchanka behind. They moved as quickly as their jet packs could move them to the closest ship. The turians were closing in on their ship, getting within firing range. But then the ship shot forward to the closest frigate, getting its orders from Korth's omni-tool. The ships started firing soon. The ship took damage that would have killed anyone on board but it continued on its path thanks to the lack of friction or gravity.

"Boom." Tank smiled when the ship crashed into the frigate, the explosives on board tearing apart everything within range. The ships all around them began firing down into the planet. The first shots were directed from where the orbital cannon was. But more shots began firing from Tuchanka. It was chaos now. Ships began exploding all around the brothers as they continued to make their way to a frigate. They were able to attach themselves to its underside, held in place by the magnets in their boots. The ship was trying to dodge fire, along with the debris from its fellow ships. The occupants were too busy to realize that the three krogans had attached a small explosive onto it. The got a safe distance away before it blew. Air vented out into space, along with a few soldiers. The krogan shot each of them as they flew out. As they made their way into the ship, Tank unhooked his hatchet from his belt.

* * *

Zwalo was proud his ships continued to stay in formation despite the unexpected resistance from the krogans. He knew his men wouldn't break orders just to save their own lives. His team, down to the last man would always keep their honor.

"Tell the forward line to keep firing down on the planet. I want those guns taken out. And move us into position as well. I want fire superiority."

"Right away sir." His dreadnought moved quick for a ship its size. Once in place it sent out two massive plasma missiles to the planet. The molten metal only became deadlier when it broke through the atmosphere. The shots coming from its target quickly stopped and the fire it caused could be seen from space.

"Good job men. Don't stop until all the targets are taken out. Then begin the proper bombardment."

"Yes si...Sir! One of our ships has broken out of formation. It's attacking the other ships!"

"Spirits what now? I don't care what's going on there, just take them out."

* * *

Tank ran through the last turian still alive on the ship he and his brothers had commandeered. While he wiped the blood from his blade his brothers were busy firing at the other ships around them. All together they figured at least six ships had been destroyed and two more were on their last legs. The enemy force still had plenty left but the mission had bought the krogans precious time until the geth could arrive. Korth worked quickly to get the ship down to the planet. They would land it on the dark side to better protect it. But soon they began taking fire.

Tuuyak tried to hold on but he was thrown to the ground, along with Tank. "We must make haste Korth or we'll soon be reduced to particles."

"Always did like stating the obvious Tuuyak." Korth turned all of his focus on dodging fire. The turians stayed in a orderly line, like he thought they would. Instead, he took advantage of fighting in space, dropping down and out of sight. Soon he was close enough to feel the orbit of his planet try and pull him in. The few guns that were left helped cover him as he made his way around the side of the world. He let out a sigh of relief when they stopped taking fire and began to enter the atmosphere. But now he had new problems to deal with. The damage to the ship was extensive and there was no guarantee that he'd be able to land in one piece.

"You will want to strap yourselves in brothers. This is going to be tricky."

"And you say I state the obvious too much." Tuuyak pulled a safety brace down over him in a chair along the corridor connecting the cockpit to the CIC. Tank did the same but as fires began to rage around them and consoles exploded in a shower of sparks he lifted his arms into the air shouting with a crazed delight.

* * *

Several hours later, Captain Zwalo's commanders reported to him. "Status?"

"The guns have all been destroyed. At least the ones we know about. We have also shot nearly every inch of the surface on this hemisphere. But we don't know how much good it did. The planet is already a wasteland and we don't have any way of knowing if the krogans have been killed."

Another commander stepped forward. "Sir, I believe the only way we can finish this mission is by getting boots on the ground. I request permission to take the men to these strategic locations. According to the STG with us, they are the last known locations of the Clan strongholds." The commander sent Zwalo the data for the veteran to study. He answered with a curt nod.

"Move your men out right away. I want everyone down there. Your targets are the Chiefs. Take them out and the population will lose the will to fight. Dismissed." The commanders snapped off a salute and rushed to pass the orders down the line. Zwalo rubbed his scar before opening up his communicator. "Syxira. It's time."

"Took long enough. Thanks for the ride Captain. I'll be seeing you later."

"Don't expect any help down there asari. My men have their talons full enough as it is."

"No need to worry about me Captain. I never need help taking care of myself." The Captain looked over his display in time to see hundreds of shuttles begin their descent towards the planet. The true siege was now ready to begin. And he knew from experience it would prove to be a long and bloody affair.

* * *

Shard was sitting across from Jaq and next to Tali deep inside the bunker. Deeper inside, the other Urdnot warriors were waiting impatiently as well. Each blast on the planet's surface shook the lights and sent dust falling to the floor. Shard watched as Jaq sharpened a familiar blade. Jaq noticed her looking but Shard just glanced back at her new hammer and they both understood. Shard looked over and saw Tali was trying to keep her hands still. She reached over and took one of them. Tali looked up and Shard could make out the faint smile past her facemask. They sat there together, no words needed between the three.

Soon the shaking stopped and the dust didn't fall anymore. Throughout the bunker, people looked up, rechecked their weapons, put on their helmets and got ready to go to war. Shard and Jaq did the same, latching on their helmets. Tali stood next to them in time to see Bakara marching down the hall.

"The turians have begun to land on the planet. I've sent out the word. Everyone who can fight is to move out of the bunkers."

Shard put her hand on Bakara's chest. Her Siva looked down at it and then back up into Shard's face. "Not you Siva. You need to stay here."

"You have not grown enough to give me orders yet Shard. Do not forget who is in charge here."

Jaq cocked a hip, a shotgun in one hand leaning over her shoulder. "Red's right boss. We need you alive. We all know you're tough enough to chew up and spit out anything the turians throw at you, but every fucker gets lucky once in a while."

Tali spoke next, "Please listen to them Bakara. The fastest way for a ship to fall is for the Captain to go down first." Bakara grumbled but finally nodded.

"When did my girls become so intelligent?" She pulled Jaq and Shard into a tight hug and then pulled Tali into the mix as well. "You know your mission. Protect Mother Tuchanka, and protect yourselves...please," the final word came out in a whisper.

Jaq and Shard answered her back, "This we promise." Jaq let go and began shouting down the hall. "The fuck you assholes waiting for? An invitation from Kalros herself? Get your humps out of the bunker now!" The three women ran on ahead of the warriors, leaving behind any women or Taks that had been at Clan Urdnot at the time, along with Bakara. Wrex was one of the last to leave but before he could make it out, she pulled him into a fiery kiss. They melted into each other for a single glorious moment that was over too soon.

"You better come back to me. Or I'll storm the abyss itself and kill you."

"Never could say no to that kind of sweet talk. See ya' around 'Kara." When he left she moved further into the bunker, her hopes and prayers the only thing to keep her company now.

* * *

The warriors of Clan Urdnot didn't have to go far before they began taking fire from the charging turians. The buildings, which had been shattered before, were now not much more than stones on the ground. There wasn't a lot of shelter to take. Thankfully, they had survived everything the planet had thrown at them before they even knew about building homes and their regenerative properties would come in handy today.

Jaq, Shard and Tali were running straight forward on the front line. Tali's shields were boosted as much as her not insignificant ability could get them, along with an extra layer of protection from Jaq's biotics. Shard ran and fired with her sniper rifle, each blast a kill-shot. Jaq was sending out shockwaves into the biggest clusters of soldiers. Tali screamed over to Jaq.

"Jaq, use your grenade launcher!" Jaq didn't hesitate, instantly taking the gun out and sending the grenades up into an arch. As they flew into the air Tali tapped into her omni-tool to activate a new program she had created. The grenades began to beep in sync and then exploded at the same moment. The fire and shrapnel tore through the turian forces, along with an added electric blast courtesy of Tali.

Jaq laughed and looked down at her gun. "Not bad Suit." She looked over at Shard an idea popping into her head. "Give me a lift Red." Shard stopped and created small ledge with her hands for Jaq to leap off of. She gave her a little boost, sending her flying high above the advancing turian line. When she was at the height of her arch, she began to glow with power before slamming down into the ground. The shockwave went out in all directions, ripping apart armor and flesh in equal measure.

The turians tried to rush her but were cut off when Shard caught. She smashed the butt of her rifle into the back a soldier's head and stomped on the back of it. She put her rifle up and replaced it with her new hammer. The staff extended once she pulled it from her back and she could feel electricity begin to build up in the head. She spun her body and her hammer crushed the chest plate of the unfortunate turian wearing it. His lungs were crushed instantly and he coughed blood on the inside of his helmet. Shard spun quickly to the next opponent and the next after that.

The fighting continued like this for several more hours. Each wave put down by the krogans was replaced by fresh opposition. The krogans were holding on as best they could, but more and more continued to be killed. Each went down hard, fighting to the bitter end. The women of Maw Company were beaten and battered. Tali has several cuts in her suit that she had to quickly patch up, but she refused to drop to the rear guard. Cracks crisscrossed her faceplate and the cloth she used as a hood was burnt and torn.

Jaq and Shard didn't look much better. There armor was dented and had more than one bullet holes in them each. Shard's helmet was worse off than Jaq's. A turian had launched a grenade that went off near her head. Her helmet took most of the damage but now her left eye and part of her hair were exposed, and she like everyone else fighting for Clan Urdnot were covered in the blood of their enemies. They were catching their breath, but soon the fight would begin again. They could already see the opposition coming their way. Wrex moved towards the three, looking much the same as them.

"Not bad you three. Tali you still hangin' in there?"

Shard leaned on her hammer. "We're just trying to keep up Tuva."

"Good. This is far from over. But you three are needed somewhere else."

"The fuck you talkin' about Tuva? We're kicking ass right where we are." Jaq crossed her arms under her chest.

"Bakara just called in. We're stopping the bulk of the forces here after Clan Urdnot, but the other clans could use a hand. They need you at the bunker for the female clan. Lots of Taks there too. And you won't have any help. You're the only ones we can get for the job right now. Get moving."

Shard lifted her hammer off the ground and started into a run. As she passed Wrex, he gripped her by the shoulder. "And stay safe. All of you." She gave him a nod and continued towards the female bunker.

Wrex saw the first turians getting within sight. "Come on you gruesome sons of bitches. Ol' Wrex has got just what you're looking for." He turned back at the rest of his men. "Let's show these pyjaks how Clan Urdnot treats assholes who try to blow up our planet!" The roars of his warriors answered him back and as if they hadn't been fighting for hours already, they started into a full march straight towards the enemy.


	40. Chapter 40 - No Room to Breathe

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

 **Also, I want to give a recommendation for a story from Ozymandeos called From a Shard, Darkly. I enjoyed it.**

* * *

Hjosk was out of breath after running for so long. He couldn't stop now though. His Clan Chief needed him to check on a security patrol that failed to check in. When the young krogan turned the corner he quickly found out why. The patrol was splattered across the room. It was a massacre. From the spread it seemed like they must have been surrounded. There were bullet holes all over the room. He had to be careful, there was no way to know where a turian or salarian would pop up while the siege was on.

He stepped further into the room and got a better look at the damage. Most of the wounds had the sign of biotic burns. If he had to guess, perhaps the patrol got confused because it certainly looked as if some were killed by friendly fire. He didn't have time to stay here and find out, he had to get back to the clan holdings.

"Don't leave yet. I still have so many questions I need answered, and these boys weren't kind enough to answer me. You wouldn't treat a girl so rudely would you?" Hjosk pointed his weapon from where the voice came from but he didn't see anything in the dark corner. He kept the weapon pointed but continued to slowly back out of the room. He wasn't stupid enough to go in there. "Please don't go. I promise we can have a lot of fun." He was nearly out of the room when he sent a burst of fire into the darkness before quickly turning to leave.

But when he turned, he came face to face to an asari in dark leather armor. She was smiling at him in a way that in another circumstance he would have enjoyed. But she also had a heavy pistol tucked against his ribs. Before he could make a move she fired twice and then twice again when he staggered back. The second shots shattered both of his knees. He rolled onto his back to help him point his weapon at his attacker but she was already gone. She was almost too fast to follow but he tried to hit her regardless. Each shot missed and then his gun was taken from him with a biotic pull.

Syxira caught the gun flying towards her and pointed the business end down at the krogan, shooting him in both of his hands and his arms. He screamed out and despite his strength he could not pull himself off the ground. She tossed the weapon aside and reached behind her back. Hjosk's eyes widened when he saw her pull out a small but very sharp looking knife along with a claw hammer.

"Please don't judge me too harshly, but in my profession it's always best to have the right tools for the job, even if those tools can seem a tad barbaric. You see I have a few questions." The asari straddled on top of Hjosk, using biotics to make sure he wouldn't be able to wiggle free. The smile never left her face as she forced the claw below the base of Hjosk's crest. He knew what she was about to do and tried as hard as he could to get free, panic flooding his brain. But it was no use, and soon he felt the sharp crack when she was able to pry the hard scale off of his scalp. Blood seeped down his face and the asari helped her work with the knife until she took off half of Hjosk's crest.

The krogan began to sob in fear and pain when he saw her holding part of him. The depravity of it all crushed nearly all his resistance. "Now, about those questions, let's start with an easy one. Where can I find Urdnot Bakara?" Before he could say anything, he felt the claw return to what was left of his crest and he couldn't hold back the terror that filled his screams.

* * *

A team of turians moved at an orderly pace through what was left of Rorloc territory. They had a very specific mission: to confiscate or otherwise destroy any research they found about the genophage. The STG had provided them good intel that Dr. Sukar was working with Urdnot Shard to cure the disease. The bombardment had done a lot of damage already but it wouldn't be enough to guarantee annihilation. The Citadel had particular rules about how you could attack a planet, one the turians had found themselves ignoring in the past. Since them, the Hierarchy had worked on ways to still enjoy the tactical advantages of attacking from orbit while not guaranteeing the destruction of a planet. Two of the Councilors still weren't happy with what the turians had come up with but they approved it none the less.

The soldiers needed to finish the job now. The one taking point cleared a room with lab equipment and containment tanks inside of it. There were severely outdated testing equipment cluttering the room, but it was where they were told they could find Sukar's lab. They moved out in a wide pattern, scrounging through everything. But they weren't able to find anything of note. Each datapad had been formatted, and all the tanks were empty. Even the old computers had been wiped clean. They were about to report back to command when each of the datapads started to beep. That was the only warning they got before the room was filled with explosions. More explosions triggered throughout the entire building, helping the turians with the destruction of another building.

Deep underground, Sukar's camera feed cut out to static. He set the detonator down on the table, next to the updated computer equipment Shard had procured for him. He had long anticipated something like this and had anything he and his team needed for their tests into secret locations known only to the clan. Sukar didn't believe in higher powers or spirituality, so none would consider him a male of faith. But he did have faith in people like Bakara, Wrex and Shard. He had to hope they would be enough to protect Tuchanka and get them through this. And when it was done, he'd do his part in bringing his people into the future. Him, and the small figure that was floating in front of him, suspended in the liquid of the tank.

* * *

"Everything's in place Jaq." Shard threw down the last slab of stone she could find in the area around the entrance to the female bunker. It created enough cover for the women to hide behind. They were at the end of a long hallway inside the basement beneath the clan holdings. The hallway allowed at most four people to stand shoulder to shoulder.

Tali had two drones floating down the hallway as well. She was leaning against the wall, trying and failing to suppress a cough. Jaq held her arm up, and injected her with a concoction Shard had come up with to help keep her going until she could get some proper rest. Tali nodded in thanks and Jaq turned to see Shard sit and lean against the wall she just finished. Her sniper rifle was propped up against her shoulder and Jaq could see she had left a small space in the wall where she could snipe without exposing her head.

"Wilson can't do anything to help Tals?" Jaq sat down next to her friend, Tali joining them.

Shard shook her head. "He's back in the platform, helping treat any wounded out on the field. Didn't even take his guns remember?"

Jaq smiled and pulled out the rocket launcher. "Well, at least he left us with some nice toys. I'm just worried about Tali."

"I'll make it Jaq. Don't have to worry about me. I've been able to get all the breaches sealed fast enough. I'm not leaving you two."

Jaq was about to continue when she heard shouting and echoes coming from the other end of the hall. "God damn it, never a fucking break with these bastards." She gave herself an injection along with Shard. Their heart rates kicked into high gear and they could feel the back of their teeth tingling. Jaq wouldn't call it enjoyable, but it was better than the alternative. Shard propped her rifle through the hole while Jaq and Tali took their positions next to her.

Shard had to position herself at an uncomfortable angle so she could see through her scope where her eye was exposed thanks to the gash in her helmet. She tried to steady her breath and her hands. Thankfully the wall helped brace the gun. The footsteps got louder the closer the forces got and from the sounds of it, there were a lot of people coming. She could almost feel the vibrations inside her skull but she ignored it. All that mattered in all of existence at this moment to her were this hallway and her crosshair.

The first person she spotted was a salarian in white armor. A scout probably. No point in trying to play this stealth. She felt the stock of her rifle slam into her shoulder but she was used to that feeling by now, along with the sight of her target's head exploding out of the back of his helmet. His green blood splattered onto the next one in line, a turian. He only had time to catch the salarian's corpse before his head snapped back as well.

Shard continued at a detached pace. Thermal clips began to pile up around her. She had found her rhythm and besides the sounds of orders being shouted you could also hear boom-click-clack-boom-click-clack. Soldiers were tripping over the bodies of their comrades and friends but still they pushed on. Now they were close enough for Jaq and Tali to attack as well. Tali would let her drones pester her targets before she would blast them away with her shotgun. On the other side of Shard, Jaq was smashing people into walls with her biotics. Not to mention the ceiling, the floor and each other. Blood was flowing down the slightly slanted floor and began to pool around the base of their makeshift barricade. Jaq and Tali would fire in shifts, one taking cover and the other firing. Shard never slowed down with her barrage.

Despite killing so many of their enemies, they continued to come. The barrier was being chipped away and Tali's drones had been destroyed. Shard was nearly out of clips. Jaq had taken another hit in her ribs but was able to patch it up quickly while the other two continued firing. She was about to stand when she heart Tali shout, "grenade," and saw the round metal disk attach to the wall next to Tali's head. Jaq used her biotics to pull Tali down and put a shield up around the three of them. She got it up just in time to keep them alive but the blast sent them to the floor and destroyed their barricade.

Jaq could hear ringing in her ears and shook her head to get her focus back. She could make out the battered forced still pushing forward. Whoever had thrown it didn't realize the blast would hit them as well as Maw Company. Tali was crawling along the ground searching for her shotgun. But Shard was already up, her hammer out, staring straight forward. Jaq saw her speak but the voice that came out of her friend was harder than she had ever heard before.

"Give me every inch of protection you can. And whatever you do, you make sure you and Tali stay here in case I don't make it back." Jaq wanted to argue but Shard didn't give her a chance. She could see the part of her face that was exposed and a faint red light glowing from within her helmet. One moment Shard was standing there and the next Jaq saw her further down the hall, her helmet implanted where a turian's skull used to be. Jaq reached out and surrounded Shard with as much barrier as she could produce. Bullets were bouncing off the extra shield as the enemy tried to take down the living tank.

Shard swung her hammer around into the stomach of a trooper doubling him over. She lifted him with her weapon off the ground and flung him at the next target. She lifted one unlucky salarian by the throat and slammed him into the ceiling and then again into the ground. A turian tried to slash at her with a talon blade across her throat. The barrier withstood the blow and the blade actually snapped off the handle. She cracked the soldier's neck with a headbutt that left him in a heap on the floor. She was about to bring her hammer down on his head but in her rage she miscalculated her angle.

Shard's hammer got stuck on the ceiling when she tried to bring it down and she was caught off guard. One brave salarian tried to take her out at her legs but she was able to resist it. She let her hammer drop to the ground with a clatter and reached down to wrap her massive arms around the salarian's back. He tried to keep his grip around her legs but she pulled him off the ground, holding him in the air upside down. She squeezed with all her strength until she felt the salarian's armor crack, along with his bones. She dropped his body to the ground. She didn't know if his spasms meant he was still alive or not but she meant to be sure and lifted her boot to crush his head.

Then a flash of metal and a deep burning in her exposed eye. A turian had come from behind her and planted his blade into her exposed eye. She hadn't noticed the barrier around her had finally fizzled out after a constant barrage. She also hadn't noticed Jaq and Tali helping her take out anyone that had been trying to sneak up on her. They had left their safety to rush to her side but were now had their hands full with problems of their own.

Shard backhanded the turian that had stabbed her. The blade remained lodged inside her helmet. She gripped the handle and felt fresh pain shoot throughout her body. She pushed through it and with a quick motion pulled the blade out of her eye. She saw that it came with the blade but that didn't stop her from pushing the talon into the soft side of her attacker's armor under his arm. She pushed it down to the hilt and then quickly broke his neck. She used so much force that she fell down next to him, his head twisted to an unnatural angle.

Now the pain caught back up with her and she felt her body stiffen. She was sitting in a pile of corpses of her own making. She tried to make sense of everything with the use of only one eye. She saw Tali being lifted off the ground by a turian with his hands around her neck. Jaq was on the ground while another solider tried to push a talon into her chest. Shard felt disgust with herself when her body refused to listen to her orders and just sat their useless while her friends were about to be killed, quickly followed by herself.

Tali's eyes started to roll into the back of her head and her tongue was forced out of her mouth as the air was cut off from her brain. Her strong legs were kicking wildly. But in a last ditch effort she braced both of them on the wall. She launched off of it with enough strength forcing the turian to crash into the other side of the hall. He was stunned when the back of his head hit the hard stone and Tali didn't give him time to recover. She pulled the knife from her boot and started to stab him multiple times. He slid down the wall leaving a smear of blood on the other side. She tripped down next to him when in her fury she missed the last blow and the knife slipped from her hand.

But she was quickly scrambling over to Jaq just as the turian was about to pierce her chestplate with his own knife. She stopped him when he pulled his head back and shoved her omni-tool into his neck. Her shock program activated and instantly sent several thousand volts into him. He went flying into the wall and Jaq was quickly up and clawing her way over to Shard. Tali stalked the still breathing enemy who tried to get up from the ground. She stopped him when she started to slam his head into the wall and then into the floor. She kept at it long after he died, screaming into his face with each blow.

Jaq's hand hovered over Shard's latest injury. She quickly got her helmet off to make sure she was still alive and when she did she saw Shard's tired eye looking back at her. It seemed to lose focus for a moment.

"Jaq, behind you…"

A dozen fresh troops were about to enter the hallway, each heavily armed. Jaq pulled out her rocket launcher and didn't hesitate firing it into the horde. The walls shook with the blast and cracks spread quickly along the walls and ceiling. A few of the turians remained but Jaq didn't have any more ammo on her. She looked over at Tali, slumped over, either dead or passed out. Shard didn't look much better. She kissed Shard on her forehead before picking up her hammer. What Shard saw almost put her Surge ability to shame.

Jaq used her biotic rush to crash into the remaining troops. But the power she put into each one made it look closer to actual teleportation. She wondered if this was how she looked when she went red. In the span of less than 10 seconds, Jaq had taken out a dozen enemies. She would appear in front of them, smash them to bits with her hammer and then be gone before anyone could land a shot on her. Shard couldn't see her anymore as she kept teleporting down the hallway. But she could hear the destruction, finished off with another explosion. Smoke came rushing back towards her.

Shard jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder but she saw it was Tali who had found enough strength to get next to her. She tried to speak but Tali didn't let her, instead pulling Shard's head into her chest, holding her as tight as she could manage in her state. She had been on her knees but soon slumped down into a heap next to Shard. They could see a figure walking towards them through the smoke. They held each other's hands, preparing for the inevitable. But Jaq emerged from the haze, her armor smoking and torn apart in several places, her tattooed skin burned and bleeding. She was dragging Shard's hammer behind her before dropping it and falling next to her friends.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your toy Red…"

"Jaq…"

Tali reached behind Shard's back to grip the side of Jaq's head as she leaned it into Red. Surrounded by death and destruction, sitting in a mixture of blood from themselves and their enemies, the women of Maw Company could only wait to see what else would be thrown at them.

* * *

"Maw Company come in. I repeat Maw Company come in." Bakara switched the channel on her communicator.

"Wrex can you hear me?" She heard an explosion over the line before being greeted by the familiar bass of Wrex's voice.

"A little busy at the moment Chief."

"I cannot get in touch with the girls. The female Clan Chief told me that they heard a lot of fighting coming from above the bunker. You need to get someone to check on them."

"There ain't no one to send Bakara. I need everyone I have just to keep these bastards from overwhelming our position. We've lost at least half of Clan Urdnot as it is."

"Wrex, don't argue with me on this. These are our Taks we're talking about."

"I don't like it any more than you do boss, but this is the way it is. Maw Company is tough, you have to let them fend for themselves this time."

Bakara hesitated to think about what he was saying. She knew he was right. The only reasonable thing to do was to wait her until the fighting was over. Fuck reason. "Then I'm going. I know where they are. I'll let you know what I find."

"Bakara no! You can't go out there, there's too many troops."

"I know how to stay hidden Wrex. This is my planet and those are my girls. I will not leave more of my children to die in the dirt. Not while I can help it."

"Bakara wai-" she shut the call down before he could continue to try and dissuade her. And if she was being honest, before she could be convinced that this was a very bad idea. Her honor guards looked at her nervously.

"Stay here or come with me, I don't care. Just get out of my way." She pushed past them but they quickly fell into step behind her. It didn't take them long to make their way to the base of the elevator. She was about to step onto it when she heard a loud sound behind her. She spun in time to see her guards fall lifelessly to the ground. She didn't panic, instead focusing her mind to a needle point. It was an advance technique of the soul-fist, one she would one day teach her girls, if she ever got to see them again.

She looked towards where she felt the small pulse. She could almost see the aura in the darkness. She tucked and rolled forward, narrowly missing the two shots that were meant for her head. She reached out and grabbed onto a form in the shadows. She spun, throwing the figure into the light. She held onto the gun the shots had come from and the figure lost its grip on it. The slender form spun in the air, landing with a practiced grace. Bakara quickly fired at the female she now realized was an asari. But the shots bounced uselessly off a quickly erected barrier. Bakara didn't waste any more shots.

"An assassin. The Council sent you I assume? Let's make this quick, there's someplace I need to be."

The asari stood with an infuriating smile plastered on her face. "Yes ma'am madam 'Alpha Chief'. Your wish is my command." Syxira gave a brief curtsy before rushing forward. She swung a blue glowing fist toward Bakara's head but the krogan female caught the blow, her own hand now glowing blue. Syxira blinked in confusion and looked up into the smoldering eyes of the towering krogan.

"Wha-" was all she was lamely able to get out before Bakara shoved the hired killer into the elevator behind her. Syxira had put every ounce of biotic energy she had into that blow but the female had tossed it aside as if she were a novice.

"Like I said," Bakara held up her glowing hand, "I don't have time for this." She quickly squeezed her fist as if she were crushing a rock. The asari's head snapped back and she slumped over lifeless. Blood began to drip from her eyes, nose and mouth. Bakara never liked to use her techniques to hurt people but that didn't mean she didn't know how. And being able to burst every blood vessel inside a body was one way to end a fight quickly, especially if you didn't know how to guard against it. Bakara stepped over the small body before she activated the elevator. It moved quickly up the shaft, but it still wasn't fast enough.

"Mother Tuchanka, please, don't take my girls from me. Please, let me have this one favor. This I beg of you."


	41. Chapter 41 - No Mercy for Invaders

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Wilson rushed as fast as his body could move him to the next downed krogan. He always hated having to move around in the physical world. Everything felt slow in comparison to digital travel. But he couldn't keep this male from bleeding out without his platform. His hands moved quickly to extract the bullets that peppered his massive frame. Thanks to some of the upgrades he had made to the body, he could execute his medi-programs efficiently. He supposed it must seem fast to the slow moving organics he was helping.

As soon he fixed the krogan up, he was back on his feet and heading back towards the fighting. There were bullets flying all around, along with more than a few explosions. Thankfully Wilson's body was durable enough that he didn't need to worry too much about ballistic damage. Wilson thought with some amusement that if he had lungs, he'd probably be out of breath by now. Since he had gotten back into his platform he had been healing up krogans left and right.

Suddenly, a dropship flies overhead, setting down nearby. A strong team quickly exited, taking down any krogan nearby; including the one Wilson had just fixed up. Wilson tried to get away but he was quickly surrounded.

One of the turians kneeled on the ground, some sort of cannon held above his shoulder while another one kneeled behind him. "Quick, take it out and get it on the ship for extraction."

"Oh this is going to hurt." Or it would, if I stayed here. Just as he saw the beginnings of an electric pulse about to burst out the end of the cannon, Wilson abandoned the body. His upload back into Shard's suit was quick and painless, unlike what the turians had in store for him. When he finished his upload, he took assessment of his new whereabouts.

Shard was leaning against a wall devastated with scorches and bullet holes. Her suit's sensors let him know she wasn't doing much better. Her body was doing a lot to mend itself but the damage was so extensive she was on the brink of shock. Wilson activated several of the suits functions to help with the task.

Jaq looked up when she saw Wilson's form come alive above Shard's arm. It started hovering around the three women, scanning them, along with the room.

"Well, I see you three have gotten yourselves into thorough trouble without my help. Again. It's getting to the point where I won't be able to let you leave the house."

"Ugh, just when we got a break." Jaq groaned and leaned her head back against the wall. The red sphere moved up, hovering above a bloody bandage Shard had wrapped around her eye.

"Does it hurt Shard?"

"I'll live."

"You know, I've seen extensive research on the extranet about certain cybernetic implants that should be able to replace that. I can get it for you and help Doctor Sukar with development. Should be finished in a few months."

Tali groaned after injecting herself with another booster shot. "Assuming we live that long."

Wilson hovered over to the quarian. "Looks like you might need a little help Ms. Zorah. If you don't have any opposition, I should be able to interact with your suit and cybernetics to give you a helping hand. So to speak."

Tali was quiet for a moment, looking over to see the pleading eyes of the other two women. "That won't be a problem Wilson. Just please, try not to get too invasive. I'm still a little nervous about interacting so closely with an AI."

"Don't worry Tali. I wouldn't want to do anything to change that lovable personality of yours. I'm pretty sure Mom would delete me." He disappeared into the quarian, doing what he could to help her body's immunity disadvantages.

All around the women, bodies were piled up and torn apart. To turians it would probably look like something out of a horror vid. To Jaq, it looked like victory. Somehow, she and her friends had accomplished their mission. Not a single enemy made it through. They didn't dare move from their spots though, worried that more could be on the way soon. Jaq said the roof had caved in further ahead and it would take a lot of work to get through the rubble.

So when they heard what sounded like a loud explosion and rocks ricocheting off the wall, they were all up instantly. They each picked up a discarded gun from a dead soldier and held position. They heard heavy steps coming at them at a quick pace. But instead of the shouting of orders they heard earlier, instead they heard a more familiar voice.

"Shard, Jaq, Tali please answer me! It's Bakara!" There was a desperation in the voice. The women lowered their weapons and started moving forward. When they could finally make out the krogan female, they all started running. Bakara picked all three women up in a crushing embrace and lifted them off the ground. They screamed a bit in protest, but hugged her back all the same.

"My girls, you live. I was…worried. The ones below told me they heard fighting."

Jaq looked around, with a cocksure smile on her face. "Yeah you can say things got a little rough. Nothing we couldn't handle." Bakara set the women back down on the ground. She looked at each woman, examining the wounds and battle scars. None flinched away from her gaze, wearing them with pride. Bakara stopped at the bloody cloth on Shard's eye. Shard didn't move when Bakara lifted the bandage slightly and saw the extent of the damage. She lowered it back down and her hand lingered for a moment on Shard's cheek before she pulled away.

"I'm glad you all made it out alive. What you accomplished here is nothing short of heroic. It won't be forgotten."

Tali tilted her head. "Not that we don't appreciate the concern Bakara, but what are you doing here? Shouldn't you still be in the bunker where it's safe?"

"Maybe, but it wasn't safe their either. I had to kill an assassin on my way here. Ripped the information directly out of her mind, before melting it. She was sent by the Council. They assume without me, the krogans will destabilize again and revert back to bickering among ourselves."

Shard folded her arms and looked down. "They think so little of us. You know, after all this, there may be some who call for a counter attack. Maybe even invasion."

"We'll deal with that when it comes to it. But what we need now is to keep the Citadel divided by debate. Nothing will unite them more than if they have a common enemy. That will not be us. Not again. We need to let everyone know that we were not the aggressors here."

Jaq looked around. "You might have some trouble convincing everyone of that Siva. There's gonna be a lot of bad blood from this."

"I'll handle the rabble-rousers. And anyone who steps out of line and jeopardizes Tuchanka's safety will answer to Wrex."

Tali whistled. "Hard to argue against that." Before the conversation could continue, Bakara's communicator activated.

"Alpha Chief, come in, this is urgent."

"I'm here, what's going on?"

"More ships just entered the system and they aren't with the Citadel forces."

* * *

The Prime Mobile Platform was secured against the bulkhead of the turian dropship with electronic locks on all of its extremities. The turians had dropped in quick and deadly to take it. There orders were very specific: delete the AI inside the frame, kill any enemy forces that got in their way and extract the geth platform back to the dreadnought. Their scans showed the body was free of any programs and they were able to take out the krogan in the area around the body. Now all that was left to do was get back in orbit with their prize. The dropship was in mid-flight when the troops inside noticed the platform began to move again.

It's plates around its eye shifted in a circular pattern when an unnatural voice came from inside of it. " _Upload complete. Systems reboot complete. Execution of self preservation modules: in progress._ " Before the troops could do more than blink in confusion, Geth Prime ripped itself free from the hull. With crushing force it began to systematically kill everyone inside. It's motions were devoid of emotion or malice, instead if one was watching they would comment that there was no wasted movement. It started by breaking the neck of the pilot, sending the vehicle in a free fall. While the turians tumbled about, it was able to stay composed. One moment the troops were celebrating a job well done, and the next the dropship crashed back into the dirt and burst into flame. Krogan troops advanced on the crash site, guns trained on the wreckage. From beneath the burning metal, the Geth pushed out of the debris, its body glowing from the heat. The krogan instantly recognized the figure and lowered their weapons.

" _Krogan-Allies, the geth have come to our new home. We have begun the process of eliminating the invading forces._ " True to their word, the geth made their way to the Krogan DMZ in full force. Their armada now dwarfed the turian-salarian forces. Even if they were not outnumbered, they did not have the equipment to deal with so many cyberattacks on their systems. It wasn't long before the fleet tried to issue a retreat only to find itself surrounded.

* * *

Bakara and the women of Maw Company returned to the battlefields above ground. All around them, geth troopers were dropping in from orbit to assist the krogan defenders. The cool efficiency was a stark contrast to the krogan brutality. The Citadel forces were simply outmatched. Bakara pulled up her communicator to issue commands on an unsecured broadcast.

"This is Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara. We now have the invaders on the brink. Never forget that we tried for peace. We gave our enemies a chance to leave us alone but instead they decided to come to us with only one goal in mind: our eradication. Now, with our victory assured, they may attempt surrender or call for a truce. Well to that I say too late. We will continue to request peace in the future, but let this be a message for the entire galaxy. Those who come to Tuchanka looking for war will only find death. Kill them all." The broadcast was sent to everyone within her broadcast range: ally and enemy alike. And the message was received.

In orbit, the geth ships annihilated anyone who was not marked as a friendly program. The turians, to their credit, did not try to run. The brave warriors accepted their fate and fought to the last soldier. The same can be said about the salarian STG forces. With no ships to retreat to, the fighting on the ground became more desperate. But in the end, they were all overwhelmed and after days of fighting it was finally quiet again. There was time now to take a breath.

The women of Maw Company, along with thousands of others, finally had a chance to lick their wounds. Each Clan dealt with severe losses, a beloved brother or battlemaster, now gone forever in the service of mother Tuchanka. But with the geth armada now in orbit, for the first time in centuries, the krogans actually felt secure on their own planet. During this down time, Shard decided to make a call to a friend who could help get the word out on what happened.

* * *

 **Several weeks later:**

"Hello viewers, Natano Seanoa reporting to you from Tuchanka in my ongoing coverage of the recent fighting here. We've just been granted an exclusive interview with one of the warriors who took part in the battles. We were able to first break the story to you last week after we verified the reports of a military action on Tuchanka. As you can still see, the area is slowly recovering after the Citadel bombardment. Warriors have put down their guns and are instead now clearing away rubble. The death toll continues to rise, with the last reported figure from Alpha Chief Urdnot Bakara in the tens of thousands."

"This is nothing in comparison to the unprecedented losses of the Citadel Forces in what many are calling the most devastating defeat the Citadel has ever seen. The military action, headed by Captain Captain Tyrius Zwalo, lost more than 20 ships including a turian dreadnought as well as 50 thousand troops. The defeat was made possible by the historic alliance between the krogan clans and the geth collective. According to Citadel officials the krogans' tampering with illegal artificial intelligence was the cause of the military action. But as we've reported in our ongoing coverage, the residents here say that's simply not true."

"As we've shown you, the krogans have begun to solve the question of the genophage - the disease designed by the salarians and used against the krogan's nearly a millennia ago. And with a cure all but an eventuality, krogan officials say the Citadel is willing to finish them off because they represent a new future that lies outside Citadel influence."

"Which brings me to our latest report. We've been told from our sources on the Citadel that further military action has been called off, and diplomats will soon make their way here. Joining me now to discuss what this means for any possible peace is Urdnot Shard. Shard, thank you for allowing me this time."

Shard walks into the frame of the shot, standing opposite of her friend. "Always glad to let the truth be heard Seanoa."

"Let's get right to it. Will the krogan clan chiefs agree to meet with the Citadel diplomats?"

"I don't know what details they have hashed out, but I know one thing for sure; as long as you come to Tuchanka in peace, no one gets turned away."

"Does that mean the diplomats will not be allowed an armed escort?"

"Like I said, I don't know the details. I only know that as Alpha Chief Bakara has stated time and again, we simply want to be left alone without further interference from the Citadel or its participating governments."

"We have first hand statements from several ambassadors and at least one Councilor that call that stance into questions. According to them, the krogans are brutes that cannot be trusted and must be put down. On the other hand, thanks in part to the recordings you and your teammates on Maw Company have provided, other officials have questioned the cause of further attacks against your people. Could you say anything that could put people at ease in regards to your intentions?"

"I don't want much out of life. Freedom, adventure, good company and the simple right to exist. It's no more than anyone else asks for. I know that the krogans and the rest of the galaxy had a hard time in the past. But you cannot judge who we are now based on the actions of our ancestors. With the pain we've lived through for the last few centuries, I'd say we've more than earned the right of a second chance."

"You refer to the krogans as your people. Does this mean you have rejected your humanity?"

"No offense Natano, but that doesn't have anything to do with the situation."

"Of course. What can you tell us about any future plans for the krogans?"

"We will make alliances with anyone we please as long as it can assure the ongoing safety of the future of Tuchanka. Through the safety these alliances provide, we will also continue to strive towards a better and brighter Tuchanka. This means we will cure the genophage, we will rebuild our home and we will defend ourselves from any further attacks. But, and I have the direct assurance of Bakara on this, we have no plans for invasion."

"And there you have it. Urdnot Shard, thank you for your time. Stay with us for more ongoing coverage from Tuchanka. This is Natano Seanoa, signing out."

* * *

A man sitting in a dark room shut off the most recent report from Tuchanka. Floating around him as continued to smoke in his chair, other reports filtered through his systems about the current state of the galaxy. He heard a woman clear her throat behind him. He didn't turn to face her, just taking another drag from his cigarette.

"Tell me what you found out."

Tabatha put her hands behind her back, not phased by the way the man spoke. "From what we can tell, the reports are unusually accurate. It would seem the krogans have decided to wear their hearts on their sleeves so to speak. They've released what many would call state secrets. I believe they feel secure now with the new geth alliance. Meanwhile the results have been instant. There are calls of outrage against the Citadel for the attack, along with a large deal of donations to Tuchanka to help with the rebuilding efforts. Word is the Citadel plans to either attempt to lure the krogans back into the fold with promises of new colonies to add to its domain. But it's a long shot. Instead, I believe they will eventually adopt their backup plan of treating the krogans the same way they treat Aria and the Terminus."

"Interesting. It would weaken the Citadel's reputation further. It could be the opening we need. We may need to make our move sooner than planned. Are our operatives inside the Alliance military ready to move?"

"They are sir. I've been told that once the word is given, we will be able to secure at least one third of all military assets and command. The colony governors who have sworn allegiance with us say they are ready as well. Soon, we'll be able to set up Cerberus as an official human government, an alternative to the Alliance, with a power base in the colonies. But, and forgive me for speaking out of turn, I have to say I am a bit concerned. We'll be able to make our move but we could be dragged down in a civil war. What's to stop the Citadel from intervening and helping the Alliance?"

"You let me worry about the details Tabatha. You just make sure everything is ready. I have good intel that we will soon be presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity that will provide all the opening we'll ever need. In the meantime, I also want an emphasis put on loose ends. Any projects that have been marked as successful will be transferred to one of the colonies soon-to-be under our control. The others must be shut down and all traces taken out."

"Understood sir."

"This includes Project Zero and Prime. I want new operations set up to accomplish the task."

"It'll be taken care of. I also got your report to use the new operatives from Henry Lawson. Do you believe they are up to the task?"

"Of course. I've been assured by Mr. Lawson that the twins are perfect and completely committed to Cerberus. They'll be major assets."

"Understood sir. We'll make sure to put Operatives Hel and Athena to good use. I must say, they are interesting names."

"Yes. Seems my love for mythology has rubbed off on our friend Mr. Lawson. Is there anything else?"

"That is all sir."

"Then please leave me. I have more reports I need to go over in private."

The woman turned and left without another word, leaving the man with glowing blue eyes alone in the dark room. His cybernetic eyes made it so he didn't need light. But even without them, he would have found what he was looking for. It was never far from him since it was first delivered into his hands. His little miracle was discovered in a deep space probe inside human territory. No one could tell him where it came from, but since he found it, it had been a source of inspiration. He would even swear sometimes he heard it whispering to him. The man opened up a secret slot in his desk which raised a small platform. Resting on the platform was a dark sphere. The Illusive Man reached over, his fingers hovering inches away from its surface, and put his mind to work to further along his plans for the future of his people.


	42. Chapter 42 - We Need a Vacation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

A round of drinks were raised in the air by the raucous krogans filling what was left of the Urdnot feast hall, and their loud cheers could be heard by everyone nearby.

One krogan stood higher than the rest, standing on top of a stone table. "To victory and to the honorable dead!"

Everyone met his cries. "To victory and to the honorable dead!"

The leader of the cheers turned his eye towards a hole in the ceiling, looking towards the starry night sky. "And to our new friends the geth! May their honor never fail them!" The party-goers answered the cheer. No geth attended the party, not seeing much of a point. This didn't stop the plethora of thanks being shouted by krogans all around the planet. Not to mention a few drunken breeding requests. Oddly enough, while the geth did not answer any of the requests they did store the messages in their databanks.

The women of Maw Company were enjoying themselves as well. Wilson decided to spend the evening conversing with the geth in orbit so Shard, Tali and Jaq had only themselves to enjoy the evening. And that was more than enough for them. Between rounds of drinks from thankful females and praises about their many battles from other warriors, there was barely any time to stand still and relax. Eventually they were able to slip into a dark corner and sit around a small fire for a little peace. They were huddled close together with Tali in the middle.

She was able to keep up with the krogan by now, having spent so much time among them. She didn't seem any worse for wear after all the drinking. But Shard thought she did look a little serious for such a celebration.

"What's wrong Tali? Are you still having trouble dealing with the new alliance?"

"No nothing like that. I might harbor some deep seeded bias against them, but I recognize that. I can't deny the help they have offered to the first organic species that treated them as equals. I'm just thinking about the future and where we go from here."

Jaq put her hands behind her head, leaning back with a relaxed ease. "Probably more fun, fighting and fuckin'. Just a few of my favorite things. We beat back the fucking Citadel. Ain't no one above us anymore. And from what you told me, sounds like we'll have the quarians in the bag soon."

Tali leaned down with her elbows on her knees. "Assuming we can get confirmation about the homeworld back to the fleet. But who knows when that'll be. It seems every time we make plans, something new tries to get in our way."

Shard stands up with her hands on her hips. "Well who says we have to wait?" She now had a clean black eyepatch over her eye. A gift from Natano before he moved onto his next assignment. He had jokingly said that maybe she should keep it, that it and the arm helped her match her scary reputation. "Why don't we just go now?"

"What? To Rannoch?" Tali looked up at her taller friend.

"Why the hell not? We get Wilson to drive us, and we should be able to get there in a few days. Then before you know it, the quarians are making their way home and the krogan get their new allies. People sit on their asses too much in this galaxy. Not Maw Company though." Tali loved the way Shard looked when she flashed her brilliant smile, so brash and sure of herself. She fed off that confidence, fueling herself with it.

Jaq stood on the other side of Tali, downing the rest of her drink and finishing it off with a satisfied sigh. She made a big show of wiping off her mouth. "Shit, I ain't got no plans for the next few days. And you know me Red, I'm always ready for a trip."

Tali pushed up off her knees and stood between her friends. She couldn't help the giddiness she felt, and frankly she didn't care what anyone else thought. She put her arms around the necks of Jaq and Shard and pulled them so tightly into a hug that she lifted her feet off the ground. Shard repositioned herself and within moments she was carrying Tali on her back. Jaq, never one to be left out, hopped onto Tali's back. Shard simply repositioned her grip around both the ladies' ankles around her waist and soon she was hiking towards the direction of the ship. No one gave the women a second glance, already use to their behavior after a few drinks.

* * *

Wilson put the Surtesh through the usual motions. He found himself enjoying his new abilities to pilot the ship. The geth helped him out with a few tips on how to create piloting programs. It was like pulling teeth, so to speak. They kept going on about him needing to develop it himself and protect his future and blah blah blah. He just asked how to start up the damn thing. Thankfully what little they gave him was enough for him to figure out the rest on his own, with the help of some useful vids on the Extranet.

The women were sitting together inside the kitchen area. Jaq was loudly exclaiming how happy she was to be able to miss all the boring diplomatic meetings they skipped out on.

"Siva seemed annoyed we took off without telling anyone." Shard sipped at a small mug with steam rising above it.

"Ah she'll get over it. We're not Taks anymore, we can come and go as we please. Besides, we'll just tell her it was all Tals' idea."

Shard nodded in agreement to the plan. Tali scowled at both of them from beneath her faceplate. "You keep talking like that you two, and I'll make sure you get banned from Rannoch."

"Look at her. Not even landed yet, and she's already playing the big bad boss. Queen Tali. Kinda got a good ring to it huh Shard?"

"I've heard of worse rulers. At least your subjects would be blinded by your beauty to notice all the tyranny."

Tali gave a small laugh and slapped at Shard's arm. "You know, we never finished our discussion. About the future. No matter how you slice it, we've changed things. Forever. Who knows what else the galaxy is going to throw at us. If you could have anything you want, what would it be?"

Jaq didn't have to think for her answer. "I want to get back to work. With Maw Company I mean. Getting out there, taking jobs and kicking ass. I feel like we only scratched the surface. There's so much to see and so much to do still. I know we can't get right around to it. Tuva, Siva, hell all of Tuchanka is gonna need all the help it can get to recover. But when things settle down a bit, I say we get back out there. And maybe, one day, we find the bastards that fucked with us when we were Taks. Cerberus. I ain't forgotten about them. Never will." She didn't want to look as upset as she did, but she still felt comforted when Shard rubbed the back of her neck. "What about you Red?"

"I want to get the genophage cure finished up with Dr. Sukar. And maybe," Shard glances over at Tali, "see if I can do anything to help booster the quarian's immune system." Shard saw Tali rub her hands together in her lap before Jaq reached over to hold them steady. "I can't make any promises, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't try. Besides that, I like Jaq's idea. But she's right. We'll need to wait a while before I can even think of looking up new jobs. There's a lot of work to be done at home."

Tali turns her back and leans into Jaq, putting her legs on Shard's lap, who in turn puts her hands on Tali's legs. "Home," Tali says the word with more sadness than she thought she would. "It would seem obvious what I want from the future. After centuries away, the quarians are going to return to the homeworld. I'm going to be expected to join them, and to make my new life there. But, that's not what I want. I want to stay with you two. Wherever that takes me. You are my home. But first I must complete my Pilgrimage. Then my people's fate will be up to them."

"How sweet. I think I might cry. Or I would if I had tear ducts. Or eyes for that matter." Wilson's hologram popped up over Shard's wrist. "Just thought I'd let you ladies know we just entered the Veil. We should arrive at the coordinates Ms. Zorah gave me within a few hours." The image faded out and the women pulled themselves from their pleasant conversation reluctantly.

Jaq gave a lazy stretch. "Well, let's get ready to make a quarian girl's dreams come true I guess."

* * *

Tali was nearly overwhelmed by the feeling of being the first quarian to make her way to Rannoch. She made her way to the edge of a dusty cliff that overlooked a glittering city in the distance. Behind her, the others were climbing to catch up. Wilson stayed on board the Surtesh where it had landed nearby. The gravity was heavier than she was used to and she was almost out of breath. Jaq and Shard seemed to deal with it in stride. Despite this, they had to work hard to keep up with Tali, who was pushed on by a combination of wonder and adrenaline.

Jaq and Shard found her sitting on the edge of the cliff looking out at the city. "That city was built by my ancestors. It's magnificent. Look you can see skyscrapers and a subdivision of homes. I've never seen architecture like this anywhere. It's completely original. Completely quarian. This is what we can accomplish." Tali's friends joined her on the edge. She moved her hand out when a swift breeze swept by.

"My suit's sensors can tell me that this feels cool. But it's just sensors. I need to feel it." With a shaking hand she began to unclasp the buckles and seals that connected her gauntlet to the arm sleeve or her suit. Jaq and Shard looked at each other but didn't move to stop her. Partly out of a trust in Tali's judgement and more than a little curiosity. With only a moment's of hesitation, she finished pulling the glove off.

Shard and Jaq studied her skin as she reached out and felt the wind as if she were running her three fingers through water. Her skin was pale but had an almost second color to it. Sometimes, when the light caught it just right there would be the faintest trace of purple. Her skin looked different from Shard's and Jaq's. The texture looked less smooth, and closer to the leather hide of certain reptilian creatures they had studied when they were young. Jaq couldn't help herself when she reached out and touched Tali's hand.

Tali's breath caught in her throat at the sensation, she was unused to the feelings. Her heart beat faster and she felt a warmth deep inside her chest. Shard wasn't too far behind Jaq. Tali's skin felt cool to the touch. When she looked closer, she saw that she had small scales that were plated together. A natural armor. It would make for good protection in her species early years. Now it just served as a reminder of where they had come from. Jaq loved the way it felt, tough and soft all at the same time.

Tali reluctantly pulls away, but before Jaq can protest she sees Tali pull her hood down revealing the metal back of her helmet. She lowers her head a moment and speaks over her shoulder. "Shard, can you help me with this? Please?"

Shard moves closer to inspect the different latches seals that connect her helmet to the rest of her suit. At first glance they look complicated but after a few moments she makes out the patterns and sees that it's a simple task. It takes a few minutes before the final latch is removed. Pressure leaks out of the base of the helmet before Tali finishes the sequence on the front and her helmet lifts over her face. For a moment she shields her face as her eyes get used to the brightness of the sun. Then she just stares up with her eyes closed, basking in the warmth of the star of the homeworld.

The skin of her face is similar to that of her hand with the notable exception of a crest at the top of her head. Her skull shape is different, with the top of her head coming back with three extended points that fold into the top of her head. They are different than turians with the points slightly broader and closer to the skull. She doesn't have any hair, but her head is adorned with what Shard recognizes as light cybernetics in small circular patterns.

When Tali finds the courage to open her eyes she finds Shard and Jaq burning a hole through her. Her lips, which are soft and pink quiver as her friends appraise her. "I feel like piece of meat," she says jokingly trying to lighten the mood.

Jaq is shaken from her haze first. "Fuck Tals. You look, shit. I don't even know how to say it."

Shard interrupts by pulling Tali's chin so she can look directly into the quarian's bright white eyes. There are no pupils but Shard knows Tali is looking directly into her eyes too. "What Jaq means to say is that you look perfect. Just perfect." Tali tries to say something before Shard crashes her lips into the quarian's. She nearly passes out from the intensity of the kiss. She can't even register all the new sensations she's feeling. Not a moment later, Jaq pulled Tali into a kiss of their own, her small hands rubbing the sides of Tali's face, her crest pressing into Jaq's forehead. Jaq notices how hard the crest feels. When she's finally released, Tali's left a little woozy, hear head spinning. Shard bites her lip, a look of guilt in her eyes.

"Sorry if we get you sick Tali. I don't know what came over me." Tali pushes her bare finger against Shard's lips, silencing her.

"Totally worth it." Tali shook her head and held out her still gloved hand. She pulled up her communicator and sent out a call to her father. He answered quickly but before he could say anything he was silenced when he saw her uncovered face looking back at him.

"Hello father. I'm calling you from the homeworld. The coordinates have been sent along with this call. We conducted scans before we landed here and there are no traces of geth remaining in the system. And look," she turned the camera to look out at the ancient city, "the geth did not lie to us. There are still some cities remaining. You can all come home now."

Her father finally found his voice. "Tali. You have done more for your people than you will ever know. You've given us our future back. I know what you've told me before, but I must ask. Are you sure you do not wish to rejoin us? Are you sure with your decision to remain with the krogans?"

Tali turned the camera so her father could see Jaq and Shard sitting near her. "These women are my family father. As much as you are. I love them like I love you. I will always love you. But I must live my own life. And my heart belongs with them."

For once, Rael'Zorah didn't argue with his child. "If that is the little you wish in return for this historic gift, what kind of father would I be if I got in the way. Tali, please know, anything I've ever done was to make this day possible for us. I just never imagined you'd be able to do it on your own. I love you daughter, and I'm so proud of you." He shifted his gaze to Shard, his admiral voice slipping back into place.

"Urdnot Shard, I will bring this matter to the Admiralty Board. There is no doubt in my mind they will all vote to relocate the fleet to Rannoch. Also, as my daughter has informed me, I will also inform them of the krogan's hand in making this all possible. Tell your elders that we will soon be in contact about the future relationship of our two peoples. Keelah se'lai captain." The call ended.

The three women continued to sit together, two different set of arms wrapped around Tali's back in the middle. They wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as they could. Tali let herself be cradled between the two bodies.

"Should we get back to the ship and return to Tuchanka now?"

Shard continued to look out at the impressive vista before her. Beyond the large city were rolling hills, covering in several different colors of flowers. The skyline was lined with tall mountains, one rising high above all the rest, and snow crowing its tip. Nearby, the cliffside they sat on was split by a stream that raced over the edge. The waterfall crashed into a small lake surrounded by a series of caves.

"Well there's no rush. We could probably take some time to enjoy ourselves I think."

Jaq smiled, looking around herself. "Shit we've earned a little vacation haven't we? And we got food on the ship. And it's not like Wilson's gonna get bored. A couple days here, maybe a week? Sounds like a good way to celebrate our recent victory."

Tali got up, smiling down on her two friends. She reached down and ran her fingers through their hair, one hand gloved the other not. She liked the way it felt. She noticed the waterfall Shard looked at earlier and began walking towards it. As she moved closer, she began shedding the rest of her suit piece by piece until she stood next to the water completely bare. Jaq and Shard were quickly following suit. She smiled over her shoulder at them before she blew them a kiss and dove over the side of the cliff. She fell gracefully through the air before diving into the deep lake. She was thankful that she didn't make a fool of herself by crashing to her death but the lake seemed devoid of sharp rocks. She looked up in time to see her friends jumping in after her. Jaq's legs flailed wildly as she crashed through the cool water. Shard hugged her knees to her chest and held her nose, creating a large splash.

They quickly found their way to the quarian who was now standing in a shallower part of the water. Jaq swam up to her first.

"Shit Tali that was nuts. I didn't even think your people knew how to swim."

"Standard learning material before heading off on a Pilgrimage. You never know where you'll find yourself. But are we going to discuss the teaching methods on the Flotilla or are we going to enjoy our vacation?"

Shard and Jaq looked at each other before chasing down a giggling Tali as she failed to make an escape from her two friends.


	43. Chapter 43 - Adult Situations

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

 **WARNING THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS ADULT SITUATIONS. THE STORY WILL CONTINUE TO PROGRESS IN THE CHAPTER AFTER THIS ONE.**

* * *

Tali loved the way everything felt. The air on her body, the warmth of the sun on her skin and the cool wetness of the water from the lake she had spent the last few hours swimming in along with her lovers Shard and Jaq.

"Ladies it's getting a bit late, and as much as I love being here, I'm not what you would call and outside kind of girl. How about we get back to the ship?"

Jaq stood in the water, her skin glistening. Tali couldn't help but stare at her beautiful breasts. She loved the way they looked. "Shit, get the girl a homeworld and she still wants to spend her nights cooped up in a ship."

Shard walked out of the water, the strong muscles under her skin being accentuated by her wet skin. She towered over the naked quarian. She was looking out towards the city. "Hold on, I'm curious about something." She activated her omni-tool and pulled up a communication link with Wilson on the Surtesh.

"Hey Wilson, we're going to spending a few days here and I saw a city nearby. Can you go ahead of us and see if the geth left behind any working buildings? And if you could activate them that would be just great."

Wilson answered her back. "Sure no problem mom. And while I'm out I'll see if I can't find someplace for you three to sleep. One bed I'm guessing. You organics, always touching each other."

Jaq splashed Shard's arm, the omni-tool phasing out for a moment. "Don't be jealous ass."

Wilson wasn't gone for more than a couple of minutes when he reported back. "It looks like the geth can keep the title of most honest species in existence. Everything's still working. There's running water, electricity, and more than a few places you should be able to entertain yourselves at. You'll need to bring your own food though. We AI don't have to worry about such trivialities like eating. Or pooping. That's a bonus."

Tali made her way to the trail that would lead to the top of the cliff they jumped from and where the Surtesh waited. "Well come on you two, what are you waiting for."

Shard and Jaq eyed Tali's impressive hips as she climbed the trail. Shard saw Jaq lick her lips slightly. "Just enjoying the view Tals. You got a hell of an ass you know that?" Tali smacked it in response, not slowing down. The other two hurried to catch up.

* * *

After landing in the middle of what once was probably a busy intersection, the women entered one of the most impressive looking buildings. Before the Morning War it was a resort hotel with a built in entertainment plaza. The girls marveled at the high vaulted ceilings. Shard and Jaq hadn't bothered to put any clothing back on. Tali on the other hand had wrapped herself in the silks she usually wore on the outside of her suit. They hugged her curves and hung over her shoulders, with the small hood warming Tali's head. She loved the way things felt, but she was also used to the warmth her suit provided.

Thankfully Wilson was able to interact with the building's ancient systems. Tali had to admit the geth were skilled at maintenance for everything to be working as if they had never been abandoned. They made their way to the entertainment plaza. It was a neon wonderland. Everything was all flash and holographic advertisements. Shard thought it was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen. She loved the way the holograms stuck out in the dark environment. And standing high in the middle of the plaza was a large theater.

"What was this place?" Shard put her hands on her hips as she leaned back to see the top of the building."

"I sometimes forget your upbringing was a little different than most others. You probably didn't watch a lot of movies and shows growing up did you?"

Jaq scoffed and crossed her arms. "We were doing more important shit. Like learnin' how to take care of ourselves."

"Yes yes Jaq, you're both very tough. But you don't know what you're missing. I love watching vids. Besides being a great way to pass the time, they're also great ways to learn about other people's cultures or go on adventures when otherwise you couldn't. Would you two like to watch one with me?"

Shard bounced her head between her shoulders, pursing her lips a bit. "I don't have any problem with it. As long as you pick a good movie."

"Yeah, no borin' shit."

"Don't you two worry. I got some great stuff loaded up in my omni-tool." Tali rubbed her wrist as the women made their way into the theater.

* * *

"This is a fancy place. Must have cost a fortune to come in." Jaq leaned back on the cool leather seat. It offered more than enough room for her slim frame with two arm rests on each side. She found a button in one of them and was caught off guard when the legs came up and the chair became something closer to a bed. Shard looked down at her curiously and did the same thing on her chair. She liked the way it felt to lean all the way back and rest her head on the soft leather.

Jaq shouted into the back of the room. "Alright Tali, we're all set up down here. Why don't you get the movie started and get that cute ass of yours back down. I got a seat all warmed up for you."

"I'd say keep your pants on Jaq, but I'm afraid you two don't know the meaning of the words." Tali shouted back down and after she finished linking her omni-tool up with the digital projector the movie began. She hurried out of the room to get into the theater. It took her a moment to find the right row in the dark room but when she finally got close Jaq reached out and pulled her into her lap. She fell down with a yelp but didn't protest when Jaq held her in place with her arms snaking around her waist.

Shard reached over and held onto Tali's hand, smiling over for a moment before her eyes moved back to the screen. Tali tried to pick something she thought they would both like. So she decided to go with an asari horror movie. She knew Jaq would like all the scary parts and Shard would like the well written script. This one had been celebrated for its smart characters and even smarted villain. They were all enjoying the movie, especially when it came to one of the many sex scenes typical of the genre.

Tali didn't fail to notice Jaq's growing wetness as her pussy pressed against the back of Tali's ass. The quarian thought for once it would be nice to catch Jaq off guard. She started to wiggle a bit, pushing back against Jaq, adding pressure to the growing heat between her legs. Jaq couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips. It only served to motivate Tali even more. Soon, she didn't even notice the movie any more. She pressed her hands against Jaq's strong legs, massaging them along her thighs. She glanced over her shoulder at Shard who was leaning back in her chair, enjoying their display. She had hooked one of her legs over the arm of the chair, and the metal fingers of her arm were slowly exploring herself.

Shard saw Tali looking at her, her bright eyes visible even in the low light. She couldn't stop the smile that spread on her lips and she knew an invitation when she saw one. She leaned closer to meet Tali's advancing lips. The kiss was soft and hot at the same time and Shard loved Tali's eagerness. She didn't stop her when she felt Tali's tongue begin to explore the inside of her mouth. It was longer than she thought it would be and actually felt it wrap around her shorter but wider tongue. The alien feeling of it made her hands begin a deeper exploration of her pussy, her thumb sliding against her clit. Tali ended the kiss with a pop, Shard breathing through her mouth as if she had spent the last hour running. All the while, Tali's grinding against Jaq's vagina only intensified. Jaq moved her own hips to match hers. Tali's tongue slid across Shard's cheeks, past her ear and flicked against the lobe. Tali's voice was low and her breathing shallow.

"I need you Shard. I've needed you since I first met you. But first, I want to have some fun with Jaq. I think it's time we took charge for once. Can I count on that strong body of yours?"

Shard's fingers were slick now, her juices smearing against her seat. She only nodded. Tali gave her a confident smile before standing up. Jaq was about to protest when Tali put a finger against her lips, her thumb caressing her jawline. "Hush now love. I think it's time Shard and I bent you over for once." Without another word, Shard pulled Jaq to her feet roughly before bending her over the row in front of them. Tali kneeled behind Jaq, spreading her legs wide, exposing the biotic's dripping pussy and ass. Jaq gasped when she felt Tali's sharp teeth bite down on the plump flesh of her ass. Tali kept spreading her cheeks wide, giving herself a good view.

Shard moved down to row in front of Jaq. Jaq panted with longing. Shard reached down and took Jaq's face in her hands before planting soft kisses all around her face. As she worked herself up, the kisses became more aggressive until she was forcing her tongue deep into the smaller woman's mouth. Before Jaq knew what was happening Shard was standing again at her full height, giving her a full view of her dripping pussy and bush. The juices were crawling down Shard's thighs. She reached down, wrapping her hand around Jaq's dark ponytail. She growled down at Jaq just as she felt Tali's long tongue begin to trace the edges of her lips.

"Stick your tongue out Ripper. I want to fuck myself with it." The order left no room for question and for once in her life Jaq listened without any smart comments. Shard pressed herself down against the tongue and started to moan when Jaq's hot breath pierced her core. Her hips had a life all their own and started moving at a frantic pace. She wasn't wasting any time with foreplay. Between the deep sensation of Tali inside her and the smell and taste of Shard against her face, Jaq's mind started to get fuzzy. She felt herself loosening up and her legs tensing. She tried to give Tali a warning but all she could get out were moans when she felt her abs tighten and her orgasm shot out of her like an explosion. Her pants and moans were more than enough to send Shard over the edge who tossed her head back squeezing her eyes shut while holding onto the sides of Jaq's head for dear life. She collapsed over the panting woman, her hands tracing lazy circles over Jaq's shapely ass.

Tali was leaning back in the leather chair behind her, licking her fingers clean. She was intoxicated. She knew she ran the risk of a possible infection from ingesting the fluids of her lovers but at this moment she didn't care. She'd happily pay for it later, the part of her brain still working at a higher function betting Shard would be able to take care of her. The other two women didn't want to leave her out and were now on their knees between her legs, each caressing her inner thighs. They traded between kissing Tali's pussy and kissing each other, hoping Tali was enjoying the show. Soon they moved onto the main course. Jaq inserted her finger gently into Tali's tight lips, which clung to her. She had to be careful not to go too quickly too fast, knowing Tali had probably never had anything inserted into herself. She wasn't so gentle with Shard who was leaning up now, massaging Tali's breast and planting a deep kiss on her lips.

Shard moaned into Tali's mouth when she felt a finger bend inside of her, followed quickly by a second while Jaq's thumb flicked against her throbbing clit. She kissed her way back down to Tali's naval before planting her lips over Tali's clit. Tali gripped the arm rests on each side of her as Shard and Jaq started to work her dripping pussy faster and harder. Jaq was pumping inside both of her lovers, and was soon matched when Shard inserted a metal finger deep into Jaq. Jaq gasped against the cold feeling that mixed with her own heat. The room echoed with the moans of each woman before they each climaxed onto each other. They were out of breath, hot and wet and none attempted to move from their position as their bodies tried to get through the spasms. It took Tali longer to recover, never before experiencing a orgasm on the level of the one she just had. Jaq and Shard were on either side of her now, rubbing their breasts against her arms, running their hands over her head and the back of her neck.

"You feel amazing Tali. Now I'll have extra motivation to make sure you can get out of that suit as much as possible." Shard kissed Tali across her crest.

Jaq's kiss was more passionate, licking the traces of herself off Tali's lips. "You're such a good fuck Tals. I'm so glad this is just the first day of our vacation. And I bet we can find ourselves one hell of a giant bed somewhere in this quarian palace. And I'm going to take all the time I can get with you. I didn't even get to use my tricks this time." Tali gulped at the dark promises held in Jaq's wicked grin.

"I just want you both to know. I love you, now and forever."

"Now and forever," Shard and Jaq repeated. The three women held onto each other, long ago forgetting about the movie that continued to play on the large screen behind them.


	44. Chapter 44 - No Choice At All

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

* * *

Maw Company returned to Tuchanka after thoroughly enjoying their impromptu vacation. They were happy they didn't have to deal with any of the minutiae hashed out between the diplomats and Clan Chiefs. The crew got unloaded before making their way to Bakara's meeting chamber. All around them, workers were rushing about in an effort to get things back to normal or possibly even improvements. They were bolstered by hundreds of geth mobile-platforms. Already the two races had done much to fix the destruction left behind by the siege.

"In my wildest fantasies, I never could have imagined this." Tali watched as the geth and krogans worked in harmony.

"I can only guess at what's in your wildest fantasies Tals." Jaq smacked her hard on the back but Tali took it in stride.

"Keep that up and I'll have to keep you out of them in the future." Jaq tried to stutter out a comeback but the threat seemed to have worked on her. Tali and Shard laughed at the sight.

"This must mean we came to some sort of agreement. It'll be good to have some friends for once." Shard stepped over the broken remains of the double doors that used to be the entrance to Bakara's meeting area. The women strode in just as Bakara was finishing a conversation with a familiar looking geth prime unit.

" _Bakara-Chief Alpha, we have concluded our mutual exchange of data. The geth will continue to assist your units to make structure repairs. When can we expect the materials you stated you would obtain for us?"_

"You'll get your materials soon geth. I've already had my people put in the orders. When we united the clans, we discovered we had built up quite a bit of credits over the centuries in merc work. We'll be sticking with corporates colonies and others neutral to our alliance. The first shipments will arrive within a few weeks."

" _We find this acceptable. We anticipate more mutual exchanges of data as part of The Collective."_ Geth Prime turned to leave the room stopping only for a moment to observe Maw Company's entrance before moving onto his next destination. Tali watched as he left before turning back to Bakara.

"The Collective?"

"The name of our new alliance. Geth, krogan and as of last night, quarians as well."

Tali rubbed her thumb across the palm of her hand. "You mean they-"

"Accepted? Yeah. Not without a few conditions. They're willing to lend us some ships from their fleet and we'll provide ground troops in case of any invasion they deal with. Also, they don't want the geth anywhere near them. Any military operations we have, we'll have to be careful to make sure to keep them apart."

Shard folded her arms under her chest. "Not too surprising. A lot of bad blood there. Still, you'd think they be more grateful for the geth leaving the planet for them."

"I'll take any victory we can get. I gave your reporter friend an exclusive letting everyone know just how strong we are. I also let the rest of the galaxy know that we're willing to talk with other states. The more members we have, the better we can protect ourselves. Now we just need to work on how to run this whole thing. Things are in the early stages but a council of sorts is in the works. The head of each state will get a seat. Also I'm hoping we can work out a way to get the quarians to lend their technical expertise. We'll need it if we want Tuchanka to be more than a wasteland."

"Shit Siva. Sounds like you got your work cut out for you."

"After everything we've dealt with, it's the best kind of problem I could have. Did you three enjoy your time off? Thought you might not return."

"What and leave all this behind? You can't get rid of us that easily. We'll stick around for a while to make sure things get back to normal. Or maybe better than normal." Jaq looked around at the damage in the room.

"But you must know Siva, one day we plan to get back out into the galaxy. Start taking jobs again. As part of Maw Company?"

"You know that's not necessary anymore Shard. When we forced you off world, we didn't mean it would last forever. You're more than welcome to stay here."

Shard shook her head. "This will always be home, but we found a taste for the kind of work you can find out there. Besides, with a mug like this," Shard motions her hand towards her scarred face, "I'm basically made for merc work."

"That's true. I get a lot of reports now about how other's view us now thanks to the geth's spy programs. You three have built a fearsome reputation."

"Even me?" Tali seemed shocked.

"Especially you. People assume you are the worst of the three. They say a quarian would have to work extra hard to be accepted amongst our bloodthirsty race."

"Well they have a point Tals-" Tali cut Jaq off with a swift kick to the rear. "You see what I mean?"

As the females continued their conversation, Dr. Sukar rushed into the room. "Chief, chief!" He was actually running towards them now. "Oh good you're here Shard excellent. Chief Bakara, excellent news. It's ready."

"The cure for the genophage?"

"Yes. I've already begun tests. I'll have all the details for you soon but before I do anything I need to talk things over with Shard. Alone."

"That's a bit suspicious Sukar. Why can you not tell us everything now?" The women of Maw Company listened in while Bakara addressed the head of Clan Rorloc.

"Shard has worked with me closely to help formulate this cure. In fact, it's built off the back of the experiments done to her as a Tak. I must finalize everything with her before we move forward. I insist."

Bakara looked put out by the whole situation but there wasn't much she could do about it. Instead she turned from the doctor and looked at Shard. She shrugged her shoulders before leaving the room with Sukar.

"Why do I get the feeling like something crazy is about to happen?" Jaq kept her eyes on the two figures as they got further away.

"You mean besides a mad krogan scientist working with a human experiment to undo another experiment from other mad scientists," Tali asked.

"I know right? This is why I want to get back out there. Things are getting too crazy around here. I'm looking forward to some straight forward jobs with straight forward pay days."

"Somehow I doubt anything we get involved in will involve anything that we can't put in the crazy file."

"Alright you two, that's enough complaints for one afternoon," Bakara barked out. "If you're bored, I'm sure Wrex can find something for you to help out with." Tali and Jaq took the hint and moved out to find somewhere else they could make themselves useful or otherwise get in trouble.

* * *

Shard stood next to Sukar inside an elevator. She didn't even know it existed. Sukar was more straight forward with her than he had been to the Alpha Chief.

"I figured it was just a matter of time before we would get invaded. I moved our equipment down here along with our teams so we could work despite any damage done to the surface."

"I understand that. What I don't get is all the secrecy Doc. You've been honest with Bakara since the beginning. What's different now to where you have to run things by me first?"

"You have to understand, we're calling it a cure to the genophage for lack of a better term. There is no magic serum that can simply erase what was done to us. The genophage rewrote our genetic code. The only way to fix that is to rewrite it again. And to accomplish this, I've had to think outside the box so to speak."

"Enough dancing around the issue Doc, this isn't like you. Just tell me what you did." Shard was losing her patience. She didn't like this kind of black ops bullshit. She's always been taught to just say what was on your mind. So had the doctor.

Sukar sighed as the elevator finished its deep descent into the bunker. He stepped off the platform and into a small opening into a larger room. "It will be easier to just show you."

Shard followed him into the makeshift lab. The equipment he had down here was state-of-the-art, much better than the relics he used to deal with. It reminded her of the lab on the salarian listening station. She ignored the way it made her skin crawl to think of the place where Koto died. Without noticing it, her hand pet the edge of the hammer hung on her back. The doctor was standing in front of a tank filled with some sort of liquid. As Shard got closer she could make out the outline of a person inside of it.

"Enough games Sukar. Just tell me what the hell this is all about." Her voice shook slightly and the sound seemed to hurt the doctor.

"Fine. As I said, we'll be dealing with genetic manipulation to deal with the genophage. To perfect the procedure I needed to see how it would work on a living being. I did not want to kill anyone already alive in my search for answers. So I did the only thing I could. I bred a krogan in a tank, born with the new genetics that the procedure will change."

"That doesn't sound too crazy. Why couldn't you tell that to the others before speaking with me in private?"

"Because, the only way I could complete the procedure from scratch was to use the only sample I had from someone with altered human and krogan genetics. Yours."

"Mine? You mean to say this krogan shares my DNA?"

"Exactly. Besides you, she's the only hybrid in existence. Born a female, and altered to mature at a fast rate. She's only a few months old but she's already the equivalent of an adolescent krogan. She's completely healthy and the best of all, she's fertile. The procedure will work. Now all that needs to be done is an operation on any krogan willing to accept it. I've gone over it with my team and I'm confident we can accomplish it. We'll have much higher mortality rates at the cost of smaller clutches."

"And to accomplish all of this, you created a Tak. My Tak. Without me knowing…"

"…Yes. I was afraid you would not agree, and I saw no other way to accomplish this. I don't ask for your forgiveness. I'm not making excuses, simply telling you what happened."

"Doesn't matter what I would say now, does it?"

"Not necessarily. She's alive but she has never gained full conciseness. I've implanted basic knowledge of our language and the usual lessons a Tak her age would learn. But she's served her purpose. If you wish it, we could simply unplug the tank and let her drift away."

Shard's breath quickened the longer Sukar spoke. Without noticing, her fists balled up and her shoulders tensed. As he finished with his suggestion she quickly turned on him, punching him in the jaw and sending him crashing into a table with consoles on top of it. He crashed through it, falling to the ground with the broken equipment all around him.

"You piece of shit!" Shard hauled him back up by the cuff of his armor. "You're as bad as the sick fucks who did this to me. She didn't ask to be created like this but it's fine because you got what you needed from her and now that you're done with her you want to just flush her down the drain. Worse yet, you have the quad to ask me to do it?"

Sukar stared into Shard's burning glare with a passive expression. "I did what I needed to do to save my people. This is bigger than me, than you, than her. I took the choice of creation away from you, but I believe the only thing I can do to make it right is to leave her fate in your hands." Shard pushed the doctor away, her face wrinkled in disgust. She turned back towards the tank, putting her hand on the cool glass.

The female inside was smaller than her but she could tell she'd be tall when fully grown. She had the normal features of a female krogan, with a slightly smaller crest. "She doesn't look like me," the voice came out in a whisper.

"There is not a lot of research out there about creating hybrids. Physically she's as krogan looking as you get. Internally is a different story. Her organs operate like yours. She'll have a high regenerative ability and with the proper training could become a powerful user of the soul-fist. And of course, she has the genophage, except her body will ignore it. She'll be similar to the second generation, those born from the krogan who decide to undergo the operation. Eventually the genophage will be reduced to junk data in our DNA and the procedure won't be necessary anymore."

Shard let out a deep sigh. "You know Sukar, I would have agreed to this. I don't like secrets alright. You're not a god. You can't create life just to throw it away."

"I don't have anything for you Shard. I do what I do for the betterment of my people, my own life be damned. I'm willing to live with my decisions."

"I imagine that's what a lot of good people say before they become monsters."

"Perhaps. But for now, I've been able to help a few out. So, what are you going to do with her?"

"There is no choice to be made. She is mine, by blood. I have a responsibility to her. How do you open this thing?"

Sukar moved forward and typed a command code into the console built into the front of the tank. The figure inside was lowered as the liquid drained out. When it was finally empty, the glass moved out of place. Shard stepped back as the liquid spilled out near her feet. Her Tak was on her hands and knees on the floor, coughing up more of the liquid out of her lungs. Shard came over to the shivering naked girl, putting her arms around her back.

The krogan's eyes darted around before focusing on Shard's bright greens. Shard rubbed her arms up and down the krogan's back trying to produce more warmth. To Sukar's credit, he came over with a blanket and wrapped it around the two females.

Shard took the Tak's face into her hands, holding her steady. "Can you understand me?"

The Tak tried to speak but what came out was hoarse and dry. Shard could see the pain it caused. Eventually the girl was able to croak out, "yes."

"Do you know who I am?"

"I…dreamed…you are Urdnot Shard."

"That's right, little one, that's right. I am Urdnot Shard. Do you know who you are?"

"I…can't…I don't know what…I have no name."

Shard pulled the small figure close. The Tak didn't know why, but the feeling of being pulled closer to the female comforted her more than she could explain. Shard felt the same way. Like a piece of her was connected to a being more than it had ever been before.

"I am your Siva, you are my Tak. And one day, everyone in the galaxy will know your name: Ka'tar." Shard pet the back of the girl's head and the shivering frame moved in closer before wrapping a skinny arm around her Siva's back.


	45. THE END

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just started up a youtube channel and one of my first LPs is of Mass Effect. Just search for The Tired Dad Plays.**

 **You can also follow me on twitter here: /ShawnHerndon1**

 **JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS READ AND ENJOYED MY STORY. YOUR REVIEWS AND THOUGHTS HAVE MEANT THE WORLD TO ME. MY PLAN WAS TO KEEP THE STORY GOING HERE, BUT PLANS CHANGE. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU COULD TELL, BUT MY INSPIRATION WANED FOR THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS. SO FOR NOW, I'M GOING TO SAY THIS STORY IS COMPLETE. I WON'T WRITE OFF THE POSSIBILITY OF CREATING A SEQUEL BUT I DON'T WANT TO MAKE ANY FALSE PROMISES. I USED TO WRITE A LOT MORE WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL BUT DIDN'T KEEP UP WITH IT. SOMETIMES I WONDER ABOUT MY LEGACY AND WHAT I WILL LEAVE BEHIND. AT THE VERY LEAST, I GOT TO WRITE ONE COMPLETE STORY, EVEN IF IT HAS A FEW LOOSE ENDS FOR NOW. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT. THANKS.**


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